A passionate love story, Cold War is a bittersweet ballad of two mismatched lovers who meet in the ruins of post-war, communist Poland.
Wiktor, a genius musicologist, is travelling through rural Poland to salvage examples of old folk music and create a folk troupe to perform them. While auditioning singers, he falls in love with the unforgettable Zula and their on-again, off-again relationship begins, taking them from dreary 1950s Poland to the smoky jazz clubs of Paris in the ’60s.
The wonderful soundtrack, ranging from folk to jazz, blues, and rock, becomes the background of their obsessively enduring relationship. They can’t stand to be apart, but can’t handle being together.
The striking black and white cinematography by Lukasz Zal was nominated for an Oscar and director Pavel Pawlikowski (who dedicated the film to his parents) won Best Director at Cannes 2018; the most impressive Cannes success for Polish cinema since The Pianist won the Palme d’Or in 2002.
Pawlikowski packs a lot into the film’s 89-minute running time. Said by some critics to be one of the finest movies of the decade, it is a gorgeous tale as rocky as it is romantic.
Cold War screens Thursday, Jan. 30, 2 p.m. at Raven’s Cry Theatre and Monday, Feb. 3 and Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Gibsons Heritage Playhouse. Please note: Sunshine Coast Film Society members can now buy online advance tickets for both Gibsons and Sechelt screenings.
SCFS members: $5. Single event membership: add $4. All annual memberships and tickets for Gibsons and Sechelt can be purchased online at www.scfs.ca or at the doors.
– Submitted by Bette Chadwick
