It's not a particularly new idea, that each of us has an exact double somewhere in the world, or that there might be some kind of psychic connection between the two - kindred spirits who are unaware of the other's existence.

But "The Double Life of Veronique" attempts to give the notion an artistic twist, with slow-moving scenes that dwell on closeups of inanimate objects, eccentric camera angles, refracted images and offbeat lighting. And there are disconnected, indistinct clues about what it all means, which, to some degree, start coming together in the end.Coming together, however, is not the same as making sense.

As the film begins, the audience is informed that Veronique in France and Veronika in Poland were born on the same day, implying a mystical connection between them.

The first portion of the film follows Veronika, who lives in a small village, sings in a choir and inadvertently wins a musical competition that puts her on stage, with an opportunity for a successful singing career ahead of her.

One day Veronika sees Veronique, who is getting on a bus while wildly shooting photographs at random. Veronika is naturally taken aback at seeing someone who resembles herself but lets the moment pass without remarking on it. (Irene Jacob is excellent playing both characters; she won the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for this film last year.)

But then, something happens to Veronika, and the action shifts to Veronique's life in Paris for the duration of the film. Veronique is also on the road to a singing career, but, taking a cue from an inner feeling that is somehow connected to Veronika, she changes her life and heads in another direction.

Later, she becomes involved in a strange romance, which begins when she and a puppeteer, who is also an author of children's books, exchange knowing looks. Soon, she is getting strange phone calls, odd packages in the mail and ultimately a cassette tape with distinct and indistinct sounds, which she takes to be clues. There's never any doubt as to who is making contact with her, but it's unclear exactly what it all means, even after it is explained.

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Toward the end of the film, the puppeteer claims to have done all this as research for an adult novel he wants to write. Or was it for love? And if it was for love, why didn't he just ask her out? Probably because it was for the kind of love that only happens in the movies!

"The Double Life of Veronique" wants to be enigmatic and seductive, but too often it is merely muddled and aloof. Filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski doesn't help the audience understand the characters' motivations, and ultimately we are left to wonder about a number of elements that have been introduced but are never adequately explained - chiefly, why the particular changes that Veronique makes in her life are so vital.

I'm in favor of movies leaving things to our imagination, but so much here is so vague that in the end I felt more confounded than challenged.

"The Double Life of Veronique" is not rated but would doubtless get an R for sex scenes with nudity. There is also a single profanity spoken near the end of the film.

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