Cold War ★★★★
SOME films demand your constant attention.
Take your eyes from the screen for a minute and you may miss moments of great beauty or originality.
The exquisite Polish love story Cold War is one of these.
Director Pawel Pawlikowski produces some astounding scenes in presenting a tumultuous relationship spanning 15 years and four countries.
In just over 90 minutes, Cold War manages to succeed on three levels – as an engrossing romance, a political drama and a celebration of music, culture and life.
Polish cinema is renowned for its cinematography and Pawliknowski’s film upholds this tradition magnificently.
He and cinematographer Lukasz Zal compose and shoot scenes that amaze and intrigue while immersing the viewer in a range of times, locations and overwhelming emotions.
Filming in stunning and sharp monochrome, they adopt different approaches to interior and exterior sequences, while bringing original flourishes to both.
For the majority of exteriors, people are framed and presented as components of the landscape, with actors moving through the bottom of the frame. Because the screen aspect ratio is standard, rather than widescreen, the actors are dwarfed by their natural surrounds.
For interiors, actors are rarely filmed front-on at eye level, camera angles creating the effect of varying depths of field in single shots.
A lingering shot of a character drinking coffee in a loft apartment against a backdrop of peeling wallpaper, everyday clutter and the city view from a small window is beautifully presented, almost resembling a painting.
You can tell what I mean about not taking your eyes from the screen.
Wiktor and Zula first meet in rural Poland in 1949 when their home land is still recovering from the war.
Wiktor and his wife, accompanied by a government official, are on a mission to help with the rebuilding of the country’s identity through culture.
Their task is to travel the countryside, learning about and recording traditional music and songs, to help them establish a talent school for music and dance students that will eventually build into a cultural troupe worthy of national attention.
Amongst those auditioning, Zula stands out for her individual character and attitude, as much as her singing ability. The older Wiktor is drawn to her from first sight, placing his marriage and eventually his standing and position in jeopardy.
The depth of their attraction builds along with the reputation of the troupe which finds success on a concert tour in the capital Warsaw.
The tone for an ongoing political drama is set at this time when government support for the troupe is made conditional on the inclusion of so-called ‘morale building’ into their program and repertoire that appear more like the imposition of a new form of State control and propaganda.
On tour in East Berlin in 1952, Wiktor can stand the deception and frustration no longer, both theirs and the governments, and plans for the two of them to illegally flee to a new and freer life together in the increasingly bohemian Paris.
However, things don’t go according to plan and their on-off relationship over the following years is influenced not just by their fractured love for each other, but also their search for identity and belonging, not just as individuals but as citizens of their beloved home country.
At the heart of their relationship is the shared love of music and the film celebrates its advancement through the years in every form, from traditional folk songs in rural Poland to the birth of rock’roll in the bars of Paris.
Polish actors Thomasz Kot and Johanna Kulig are terrific as the lovers who are constantly struggling to balance their passions amid the rapdily changing face of Europe.
Written by Pawlikowski and Janusz Glowacki, Cold War is one of the best stories of dangerous romance I have seen.
Cold War is showing as part of the Perth International Film Festival from January 7 to 13, 2019 at UWA Somerville and January 15 to 20 at ECU Joondalup Pines.