In the end the puppeteer says that he made two dolls just in case one of them gets damaged. And he also mentions that the second one avoids the dangers the first one experiences. So I speculate that Veronica and Veronique are something similar to that.
A couple of people have a reading of the film in that Weronika's(the one in Poland) spirit is sort of an angel to Veronique (the one in France) and sort of "guiding" her. Perhaps directly or indirectly.
If you recall, prior to W dying, we see sort of an emotional bond and telepathic or intuitive bond (e.g.; one burns their hand and the other recoils her hand).
And there are other instances in which people have connected the puppets to the two protagonists.
Originally Posted By: svsg
Why do they look identical? Is it just a coincidence or they are somehow related to each other?
They are two different people, but "doubles."
Originally Posted By: svsg
And secondly, the puppeteer says that he later realized why he chose her for answering his question on psychology (that is, would a woman respond emotionally to a stranger) for his book. What does he realize and how does all this fit into the plot?
Let me get back to you on what it is the puppeteer, Alexandre, realized. I only watched the movie once, but will pop in the DVD tomorrow.
As for the whole Alexandre plot. People have read Alexandre to be a metaphor for Kieslowski, or the filmmaker in general and also in the context of this very film.
Another reading is Alexandre is a metaphor for destiny, fate, or chance.
But, on a more basic story level, I think the Alexandre subplot further illustrates W and V and especially V. The intuition and desire for connection on V's part.
Of the movie, Kieslowski said -
“The realm of superstitions, fortune-telling, presentiments, intuition, dreams, all this is the inner life of a human being, and all this is the hardest thing to film.” But he recognized the riskiness of the undertaking: this story, he commented elsewhere, “deals with things you can’t name. If you do, they seem trivial and stupid."
