Cold War

"Cold War" is an overrated romance with magnificent cinematography and chemistry of the lead couple. Unfortunately the storyline of two lovers incapable to be together or distant from each other is not attractive despite some good moments. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Guerra Fria" ("Cold War")

This is another case of style over content. The look of this film is stunning , deliberately reminiscent of the European films of the 50'sand 60's however there is no substance to the story. The script jumps years and places so many times that we never care enough about the main characters and their love story which is the main focus of the film (some would say only focus) as the major political changes that took place during this period are kept so far in the background that they seem insignificant and ultimately irrelevant.The jazz sequences in a Paris cafe only seem to be included to show some great smoky black and white photography rather than to move the plot forward. I appreciate that this is a very personal story for the director but in the transition to the screen he has lost the tragedy and emotion that he wanted to convey to audiences... and what could have been a great film is only 'quite good'.

Well, first off, the cinematography was not underrated. It is incredibly beautiful in a way that American Filmmakers have almost seemed to forget. We live in an era of cinema where color and computer graphics are our main tools for communicating at the theater. We want bigger (IMAX), louder/immersive (Atmos), and flashy/bright/color epileptic seizure inducing displays of digital fireworks.

Don't get me wrong. I love a movie that blends those things effectively, but there is a simple beauty to a black and white, 4x3 frame. The main thing I see in this sort of film is light. With no color to distract you, the emphasis of the film revolves around areas of light and dark.

The diffuse soft light of the cold air in winter and a stand of trees gains a mystical quality sometimes as the snow which clings to the dark trunks of trees seems to disappear into the distant fog. The hard light of a night club is seen for what it is, small sliver of light in a darkness that people long to disappear into and can't seem but help to be consumed by.

"Cold War" uses this light effectively as neither the star of the show nor a simple utilitarian instrument. It communicates an emotion that can't be portrayed through acting or production design alone.

The story is a classic one. A couple, torn apart by the love that binds them together and the forces of the world which conspire to keep them apart. Honestly, it's the main weakness of the film. I don't begrudge it that hard though. It was made by a Polish director and this is his own country's history and I'm sure there is a reason that that the war torn romance is a classic of literature and cinema. People identify with it.

In "Cold War," Zula is a young woman trying out for a Polish Heritage singing and dancing troupe. Wiktor is the director and, upon her first audition, he is intrigued by her. As they work together the troupe gains popularity till the state expresses interest in sponsoring the show. Wiktor doesn't like the control that the state is exerting over his art so he plots with Zula to escape Communist rule through Berlin.

They agree, but Zula gets cold feet and doesn't meet him at the rendezvous, opting instead to stay in Poland. The rest of the film revolves around a romance that only finds expression in passing as her career eventually takes her out of Poland and the the two of them reconnect and struggle with life abroad.

"Cold War" isn't a film for everyone. It's a little slow and reserved. The passion of their love is very muted, seeming more like passing interest at times than a fiery love affair and that makes it hard to connect with the characters at times.

Slow Cinema is seeing a bit of a resurgence right now, though, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to check out a highly acclaimed movie which exemplifies this style without falling into the trap of a 3 hour runtime as many slow cinema films do.

At a tight hour and a half, there are few people who can't afford to see something a little outside of their comfort zone. I certainly enjoyed it and more so even as I think about the film and the themes it presents once I left the theater.

It took me almost a year to rewatch Cold War, not for lack of want, but for how hard film was to revisit. The pain, torment and anguish is very tangible, and despite the fact the key characters keep making terrible mistakes that lead them into worse and worse positions, I can't help but feel I would make the same steps. What else do you do when you can't stand each other, but you can't stand to be apart from each other? Is this love? Or is love a concept mislabeled, propelled by films like this that seem to glorify harmful and destructive relationships by malicious and foolish people?

Shot in sumptuous black and white, with a stunning soundtrack and stellar performances, Cold War is not a romance film, but rather a tragedy. You know the end when you start, but you drag yourself through the mud to reanalyse every single painful detail. A film that never answers any questions, but lets you resonate with the relationship, actions and consequences of these ill pared, out of sync lovers. Oh oh oh.

This superbly shot and acted black-and-white drama from Poland is a worthy film from Pawel Pawlikowski. It doesn't quite live up to his outstanding previous film "Ida," but it comes close. Like "Ida," this film runs a fleeting 90 minutes and is shot in black and white using simple (but gorgeous) cinematography. For a film of such short runtime, "Cold War" is deeply ambitious, and for the most part, the ambition pays off. It is set over a considerable period of time both inside and outside of the Iron Curtain, and centers on a love story between a man and his student who meet at a state-run music academy in communist Poland.

The film's use of a variety of filmmaking techniques to depict the history and culture of postwar Europe through using historical context is outstanding. The simple and very powerful music is beautiful, as is every key shot in black-and-white. The two leads both give excellent performances, mixing desire for purpose in life with an intense feeling of passion that is prevalent among ambitious individuals in the era. Some of these strengths in the movie are even combined together to excellent results, such as a chilling scene when young women from the state music academy sing songs pledging absolute loyalty to Stalin on stage in performance. The juxtaposition of the different scenes in the movie is also done very well, as each scene simply cuts to black before the next major scene (set in a different region or area of Europe) begins. The only real complaint I have about this film is that while I really appreciated the ending for the most part, the tone of the film's finale felt slightly anti-climactic. Otherwise, this is a gem. Gladly recommended. 8/10