Pawel Pawlikowski's 'Cold War': On Fated Love in Difficult Times

An absolute masterpiece. It is so wonderful that I can remember every scene. This is the latest work from Pawlikowski, who thrilled the world and me with his previous film, 'Ida.' It is a typical Pawlikowski film where the story moves along smoothly and heartlessly like a picture-story show, and the music and screen composition are divine. Unlike his previous work, which unfolded an introspective story within Poland, this is a story of fated love that traverses Europe during the Cold War. With the addition of the power of 'music' to the divine shots of 'Ida,' he has truly become the strongest film director of our time! Pawlikowski, the master of shots, now has music—isn't that like giving a club to an ogre!

Poland, 1949. Wiktor and Irena, who were collecting folk music, establish the Mazurek music school and raise them as a group that purely expresses music, but they are swallowed by the waves of the era and end up having to sing songs praising the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, Wiktor, who falls in love with the free-spirited student Zula, spends nearly 20 years cultivating a 'fated love' that can never be fulfilled, while moving from place to place across Europe.

As usual, the story is not grandiose, and honestly, it is not a big deal, but because music is incorporated more abundantly than in his previous work, the emotional expression of the film itself has become extremely rich, gaining a third effect that fuses with the serenity of the screen and the monochrome visuals. Because of this, the destructive power is significantly higher compared to 'Ida,' shaking our emotions to the core. Eventually, the two, who can only confirm their love for each other by hurting one another, repeat the cycle of breaking up after fights and reuniting. The ending is an eternal 'parting' that has become inevitable, and yet it is also a 'reunion.' I cried.

Zula's femme fatale quality is wonderful. I suppose he chose a blonde actress to emphasize that she is the only one who is different because he was using monochrome footage. She herself has appeared in every Pawlikowski film since 'The Woman in the Fifth,' and I wonder if that is one of the reasons she was chosen for the lead role this time.

How can such a work be made? Should I just become his apprentice?

・Work Data

Original Title: Zimna wojna
Running Time: 89 minutes
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Release Date: June 8, 2018 (Poland)

・Rating: 100 points

・Cannes Film Festival 2018: Other Competition Selections

1. Jafar Panahi's '3 Faces'Three faces across time, or a Panahi-esque sci-fi film
3. Jia Zhangke's 'Ash Is Purest White'Volcanic ash is always the purest white
4. Stéphane Brizé's 'At War'A film that cherishes the out-of-focus back of someone's head
8. Nadine Labaki's 'Capernaum'Until the decision is made to resist the selfish convenience of adults
9. Pawel Pawlikowski's 'Cold War'On fated love in difficult times
15. Yann Gonzalez's 'Knife + Heart'Minority emotions glimpsed from the gay porn scene
16. Kirill Serebrennikov's 'Leto'The anarchism of imagery in a rock music video that satirizes a controlled society