My first encounter with Krakow was through a film by the Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski. The Double Life of Veronika was its title and the title role was played by a French woman named Irene Jakob. I was fascinated by the film, not only because it was a joy to see the many close-ups of Irene Jakob, who played a double role as a Polish musician and a French tourist, with the tourist suddenly becoming aware of her previously unknown double while walking through the city. The film is enigmatic, and Koslowski did everything to bathe the old Polish royal city in a mysterious, almost mystical light, using reflections, color filters and shots through prisms and other glass bodies. The real Krakow also posed a few puzzles for me during my visit. It seemed as if I was not visiting one city, but at least three. One of them was very similar to the beautiful and touristy sides of Prague. Another looked like the splendid districts of Budapest. The third, with its wide streets and ash-brown facades, seemed to me like the East Berlin in the 80’s. The triple life of Krakow. That could perhaps be the film title of my visit.
navidson & streets 