Cold War

Polish folk songs were never so sexy. Besides that, Pawlikovski’s balladic overview of the history of music and of Europe captivated me with its high-contrast black-and-white camera work and highly economical storytelling with sharp cuts, sudden jumps in time and numerous meanings communicated via the mise-en-scène without verbal explanation, thanks to which the film is able to cover some fifteen years of history in just under ninety minutes. At the same time, the atmosphere remains consistent, while the musical style changes along with the degree of frustration felt by the protagonists, who still do not have that which they desire. Cold War is obviously a film under the spell of post-war European cinema (in addition to its academic format, this is also apparent in the number of European countries and languages represented) – not by any means only Soviet-style musicals such as Tomorrow, People Will Be Dancing Everywhere against which it is critically defined – with which it has much more in common than with reality. At the same time, however, the plot is complicated and lovers are separated by the political repression of the time that discomfited artists in communist countries had to face. The major simplification of socio-political contexts, psychological flatness of the characters and bold stylisation serve well the timeless fatalistic story of unrequited love (in whose case it does not matter too much that we are watching only certain [arche]types instead of full-blooded heroes), but as a statement on a particular time and the people of that particular time, which it also wants to be, Cold War fails for the same reason. But if you want to see a very obliging art film that does not put numerous obstacles in the viewer’s way, it is unlikely that you will see anything nicer in the cinemas. 70% (10/07/2018)

Visually, Pawlikowski excels even more than in the Oscar-winning Ida, which he copied through his black-and-white image and aspect ratio, and at least in the first half hour his film is able to enchant through its ferocious and dynamic direction and the story of a folk singing and dancing choir that must submit to the wishes of the regime. The subsequent main plot, a melodrama about two unsympathetic protagonists who would really like to be together, but do everything they can so that they can't be together, gets tiring faster than the omnipotent song ojojoj. (03/07/2018)

Cold War is a wannabe artsy melodrama in which the central duo, instead of being together, repeatedly and VOLUNTARILY choose different life paths so that they can regret it later. And then they just happen to meet occasionally over the years to ask each other how they are doing. Plus, it’s an emotion-free movie that looks like it doesn’t want you to experience their love and does not need you to understand all of the decisions they make. A melodrama about a pair as black and white as its pretty 4:3 aspect ratio, for which I’m giving it the third star. Cold War is a cold film. [Cannes] (13/05/2018)

Absolute perfection. I'm not sure if there's anything else worth saying. I could find a lot of superlatives. From the very beginning, I enjoyed the visual aspects of the shots immensely, which is why I am grateful for the black-and-white treatment of the subject because in color all the impact would have been lost. In terms of music, I would be hard-pressed to search across world cinema for something so beautiful and coherent. The story of the fateful love of two people longing not only for each other, but also for freedom, in a time that did not exactly favor freedom and dreams, set in such tastefully elaborated realities, could not have turned out badly. Pawel Pawlikowski simply couldn't mess it up when he had such wonderful sets in reserve. The performances were also good, and the couple in love was perfectly suited to the 1950s and 1960s. And the ending? It couldn't have been wrapped up and filmed any better. I thus have no choice but to compliment the Poles on this cinematic treat. (100%) (04/08/2020)

What begins as "Polish People's Republic Searches for a Superstar" smoothly transitions into a love story, which, with its fragmented nature, resembles the hazy mist of memories of a couple who didn’t want to live in oppression but didn’t know how to live in freedom. Vivid black-and-white, captivating doses of folklore, Geislerová crossed with (forgive the spoiler) the mother of Bond’s only child, and when the breeze sweeps over the tips of wheat in the fields - these are elements that elevate the otherwise rather banal story to a higher level for those unfamiliar with the experience. Thanks for the nod to Tom the cat, which added a bit of lightness. "Is you is or is you ain't my baby." (15/11/2022)