The Oscars are upon us. Yesterday, my wife and I managed to squeeze in two Oscar nominees. We screened Cold War at the theater and then came home to watch First Reformed on Amazon Prime. I will review First Reformed tomorrow. For now, let's take a look at Cold War. The Academy seems to be suckered by black and white films. They are often great. The Artist and White Ribbon come to mind. Cold War and Roma are competing head-to-head this year, with Roma getting most of the Oscar buzz. Having seen Cold War and Shoplifters, my preference is for the latter. However, Cold War was an interesting film.
Cold War is a love story. Zula (Joanna Kulig) is a young Polish girl recruited to perform folk music in a national project intended to preserve and promote peasant music. The efforts are led by Wiktor (Tomasz Kot), who finds Zula to possess something special. The pair develop a close relationship, that seems a bit odd based on their difference in age. With Zula's checkered past, the thought occurs that she might be manipulating Wiktor for her own benefit. That begins to change when she admits that she has been sent to report on Wiktor, but that she never provides any incriminating reports. Zula tells Wiktor that she is his until the end of time. Yet their actions don't always match the love that has slowly become evident. As times change, the pair drift in and out of each other's lives, even at the risk of their lives. There love transcends the physical and political boundaries that have driven them apart.
Cold War is understated. The black and white imagery creates a cold, historic frame for dialogue that is rich, but subdued. The writing was strong, but the pacing was a bit slow. The transition of time is demonstrated through hard cuts that transitions time-lapse scenes. The story examines the star-crossed lovers theme through the lens of the Cold War. As seen from the Polish side. Director Pawel Pawlikowksi gives us a screenplay with rich characters with troubled souls. The characters felt rich and genuine. The story was fairly straight-forward. It is augmented with visually rich cinematography and excellent musical scores. The artistry elevated a basic story.
Kulig has been in a couple of films I have seen, but I don't have an independent recollection of her work. Her performance was solid. Her combination of singing talent and simple beauty was convincing. She seemed truly to be a peasant girl who was polished into a gem. I don't recognize any of Kot's prior films, although there have been many. This film revolves around these two actors. While they are only five years apart, the age gap seemed a bit larger in the film. However, the pair had great chemistry that translated well on screen. Their relationship was convincing. While I was unfamiliar with the cast, this was the type of film that didn't need star power. The value was in the imagery and cinematography. The performances were important, but merely needed a strong cast. I liked both Kulig and Kot.
Cold War received an R rating from the MPAA. The film was not that racy. There was one sex scene where we (barely) see an exposed breast. The rating seems derived from the thematic material. The film contains strong language, adult themes, alcohol consumption, smoking and a smidgen of violence. Overall, this film is tame as an R rated film. I would place the lower boundary around teen, although I might be convinced that tweens would be fine as well. I am not sure younger viewers would appreciate the pacing, though. Run time is one hour, 29 minutes.
Cold War is the type of film built for awards. It is shot in black and white, featuring strong visual appeal. The film also relies on strong musical scores to help tell the story. The story is based, very loosely, on actual events during the cold war. I enjoyed the dialogue, which was sometimes subdued and plodding, but worked. The characters were engaging, with a frustrating story that created a decent amount of tension. It is an artistic film, a love letter to its craft. It felt a tad bit pretentious at times, but overall, I would recommend seeing this film while it is in theaters. 7.5/10.
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