In 2015, Pawel Pawlikowski's "Ida" took home the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, and it deserved the reward. In 2018, his follow-up is "Cold War," which falls short of "Ida," but not by a whole lot. I doubt he will win again, but I wouldn't be shocked by a nomination.
Like "Ida," this film is also in black-and-white, and it works by conveying the greyness of life in post-WWII Poland. This one has at its center a love story, but like its physical surroundings, it is filled with darkness. Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) and Zula (Joanna Kulig) are the couple in the romance that ebbs and flows over two decades.
The film opens in a rural setting where Wiktor is a conductor and musicologist. He is recruiting young people as performers of traditional Polish folk tunes that have virtually disappeared from the mainstream of Polish music.
Auditions of scores of youngsters are taking place, but it's Zula that immediately catches Wiktor's attention with both her voice and looks. There is equal interest by both parties and soon they are involved in a tumultuous affair.
Their affair takes them both individually and together through countries on both sides of the Iron Curtain of Soviet control. Throughout, they both woo and betray each other. Yet, somehow, each remains in love with their star-crossed lover.
Wiktor and Zula are compelling as individuals and as a couple. The acting of Kul and Kolig, along with Pawlikowski's, direction and the outstanding cinematography of Lukasz Zal, makes for a hot "Cold War."
| Movie title | Cold War |
|---|---|
| Release year | 2018 |
| MPAA Rating | R |
| Our rating | |
| Summary | Pawel Pawlikowski's follow-up to Ida, which won Best Foreign Film in 2013, isn't quite as good, but still might be good enough to put it in the running for the same award this year. |
