1
In Kieslowski's film, "Two Flowers" is a work that inherits the past and the future. If the theme of the "Red", "White" and "Blue" trilogy is "freedom", "equality" and "fraternity", then the theme of "Two Flowers" is "destiny". And this film also has its own unique color - gold. Gold contains more light and warmth than the usual colors.
The theme melody lyrics in the film are from Dante's Divine Comedy, and the whole work is intertwined with the mystery of fate and the wonder of life. Both the stars that Veronica in Poland sees at the beginning of the film and the leaves that Veronica in France see strongly hint at how amazing nature and life are. Unlike the "Ten Commandments" and "Three Colors", in "Two Flowers", the heavy colors of reality are dispelled by a layer of mysterious light from the other side. There is no longer a clear demarcation between life and death, and the truth of fate and the immortality of the soul redeem the misfortunes of the world and the brevity of life.
2
Two girls with almost identical looks, ages, musical talents, and lifestyle habits have a common name - Veronica. In fact, the biggest thing they have in common is that they have the same heart. Therefore, even if they have never met, they can still deeply feel each other's presence. They are the same person, the same soul, unfolding on top of different destinies. Although they were both born in 1966, they had a completely different fate because one was born in Poland and the other in France.
At the beginning of the film, Veronica of Poland looks up at the stars in the sky, indicating that her life is full of upward pursuits. Despite suffering from a heart attack, she did not give up singing because of this. On a rainy day, when other girls are hiding from the rain, she sings with a smile on the raindrops, reveling in the moment when life melts into nature. For the pursuit of love, Veronica is equally hot, kissing her boyfriend in the rain and releasing the vitality of youth. At the concert, Veronica of Poland singed her voice and shook the audience with her natural voice. She was singing with her life, and as the scale rose, her soul gradually broke free from the shackles of the flesh and flew high towards the other shore. After singing the last note, she had a heart failure and fell on the stage. Young lives are gone, but beautiful songs remain. Meanwhile, Veronica, France, is struggling with her boyfriend. Suddenly, I felt an inexplicable sadness emerge from my heart. And thus fell into an indescribable loneliness.
Veronica of France gave up her pursuit of singing and became a primary school music teacher. Despite this, she still had difficulty getting rid of the loneliness and sadness in her heart. When she said to her father, "I have a strange feeling that I feel lonely. Father said, "That's because someone has disappeared from your life." In music class, she taught her students the same pieces that Veronica of Poland sang, and their love of music was the same. But Veronica of France pursues a subtle feeling of life and earthly happiness. She preferred an ordinary green leaf to the gleaming stars in the sky. In the film, the two Veronicas mirror each other. No one is a shadow of another, they are all real beings of life. We cannot see Veronica in France as a continuation of veronica's life in Poland, and they cannot be replaced by each other.
3
There is a mysterious character Alexander in the film. He is both a puppeteer and a writer of children's literature, acting as both a manipulator and an artist. It was he who let Veronica in France know what made her feel lonely and sad. The mysterious puppeteer, although he had already appeared next to Veronica in France, Veronica only really noticed him when she was watching the dolls perform at school. Later, Alexander used some tricks to lure Veronica to the Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris. After the two meet for the first time, Veronica feels that she has been taken advantage of and runs away angrily. But Alexander did not give up, and he went to veronica's hotel and showed her a picture of Veronica in Krakow. Veronica was surprised to find that the person in the photo was not herself. In Krakow, the two Veronica had a brief encounter, but the chaotic situation brought them by. Only then did Veronica of France know what was important in her life.
At Alexander's home, Veronica found a doll he had made according to her appearance. When she asked Alexander why he did two, he replied that one would wear out during the show and therefore needed the other as a substitute. Alexander completed his conception of the "double life of so-and-so", in which he dated the birth of two women in the same year. Apparently, the inspiration for this story came from the real lives of the two Veronicas. Alexander loved only his art, not Veronica in front of him. Veronica left him as a result, and she did not find her love. At the end of the film, Veronica of France comes to her father's old house and holds out her finger next to a tree, feeling the mystery of nature and the wonder of life.
4
This film does not tell a wonderful story, but only shows us the wonders of life. When I watched the film, the scene that impressed me the most was the puppet show. Graceful steps in the music, as if a rising ballerina had suddenly fallen, seemed to be a hint of Veronica's fate in Poland. However, a miracle suddenly appeared, and she turned into a butterfly and flew up. Death is not the end of life, but another beginning. The puppet show condenses the story of the entire film and sublimates it on a small stage.
Can we see the puppeteer Alexander as the director's embodiment in the film? If we say that Alexander gave up the love of reality for the sake of the art of imagination. Is it also true that Veronica of Poland sacrificed her life for art? What kind of charm is art that can make people give up love and life for this? This is a question that can only be answered by those who are obsessed with art and dedicate themselves to it.
Can we imagine? What kind of pressure was on Veronica's heart when she sang the high-pitched part of "Song to Heaven" in Poland? The rise of each scale is breaking through the limits of life. She is attracted by a mysterious force in her singing, preferring to abandon her body and free her soul. Is it the dream of the Sun God? Or is it Dionysus' drunkenness? Perhaps, it is a higher realm than the two—the kingdom of God. When we listen to this song written by Plesner again, won't we have a new sense of life? Two Veronica, choosing two different fates, passionate and bland. It can also be said that looking up at the sky and getting close to the earth. What the film gives us goes far beyond the strangeness of the story conception and the richness of the connotation meaning. Every picture, every note, tells us that life itself is an amazing miracle. Therefore, it is worth our awe, love, and care. There is nothing more beautiful in this world than life itself. Life is the most brilliant color, and life is the most gorgeous movement.
"Two Flowers" is the Divine Comedy in Kieslowski's film, and what Alexander is really looking for is neither Veronica in France nor Veronica in Poland. For him, what he loves is not in the world, but in heaven. He loved not Veronica's body, but her soul. Alexander, on the other hand, could only get close to Veronica's soul by relying on his art. Like Dante, it was only with the Divine Comedy that he could be with Beatrizzi. Perhaps, this is what the director wants to tell us through this film.