Krzysztof Kieslowski's 1991 film The Double Life of Véronique (La Double Vie de Véronique, hereafter DLV) is a gently tragic tale whose eerie tone merits the label “uncanny.” Premised on the assumption that life itself may be uncanny, DLV tells the tale of two women in France and Poland who are somehow doubles – and who feel this about themselves. (Both are played by Irène Jacob, who won Best Actress at Cannes for her performance.) This premise is made plausible through a rich cinematic style, comparable to the paintings of Vermeer (we often see a woman standing in a room illuminated with side lighting from a window) and Rembrandt (the movie was shot with a filter that provided a golden tone).

Through strikingly composed sequences, DLV insists that unsettling structures of fate are at work in both art and life. For example, the Polish Veronika is singing an ethereal musical phrase on stage when she collapses from a weak heart and dies.