Cold War

Starring: Joanna Kulig, Tomasz Kot, Borys Szyc

Director: Pawel Pawlikowski

Beginning in Poland in 1949, Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) is part of a group searching the countryside for authentic folk singers. Among them, he discovers the mysterious Zula (Joanna Kulig), who appears to have conned her way into the troupe. Soon, his interest in her talent blossoms into a relationship. Feeling pressure from Kaczmarek (Borys Szyc) to turn their tour into something political, Wiktor and Zula plan to cross the border into France from Germany and start a life together. She doesn't show, but Wiktor crosses anyways. Thus begins their tumultuous on and off again relationship that spans 15 years.

Running a brisk 85 minutes, it’s amazing how much ground the film covers, spanning 15 years of Zula and Wiktor’s relationship. It speaks to Pawlikowski's control over the material that he can focus on specific periods and never lose focus. It helps when he has a fantastic performer in Joanna Kulig. Despite not being the main character, she is a spark plug and displays an impressive and wide array of emotions that Zula experiences. I hope she finds her way into the awards conversation.

The cinematography is stunning as well, feeling as chaotic yet beautiful as Wiktor and Zula's relationship. While the black and white isn't nearly as crisp and beautiful as Roma (which I saw right before seeing this), it still adds a needed and necessary dimension to the simple love story it is telling.

The foreign language film race is going to be interesting this year. There have been many exceptional foreign films this year including Burning, Roma, and Border. While many consider Roma to be the front runner, I’m leaning more towards Cold War. I couldn't help but be drawn into the relationship as well as the haunting musical performances. It was interesting to watch this and Roma so close to one another because they are both personal films for the directors. Roma is of course Cuarón’s tribute to his childhood and Cold War is Pawlikowski’s tribute to his parents.

It's well worth the watch and despite the simple premise, the film has a haunting staying power that will stick with you once the credits roll.