COLD WAR (2018)

Cast
Joanna Kulig as Zuzanna "Zula" Lichoń
Tomasz Kot as Wiktor Warski
Borys Szyc as Lech Kaczmarek
Agata Kulesza as Irena Bielecka
Director
Paweł Pawlikowski
Writer (story)
Pawel Pawlikowski
Writer (screenplay with the collaboration of)
Piotr Borkowski
Writer
Pawel Pawlikowski, Janusz Glowacki
Cinematographer
Lukasz Zal,
Editor
Jaroslaw Kaminski
Genre
Drama, Music, Romance,
Rated R for some sexual content, nudity and language.
88 minutes


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by Kagiso Kwenda

In any civilization there is a clear relationship between myth and the life of a person, how one separate his life from myth is alway a matter of choice; how is myth and real life different is always a open debate for historian or those who put value and logical narrative in order and also factual understanding ahead .The myth of an individual person always is drawn from a larger pool of individuals,this then form a society with certain narrative characteristics, that then manifest to a culture that then forms a closed loop societal conditioning environment -with those narrative embedded in that society -that functions on certain narrative values that are held to a certain degree.Could a place nurture a person to love in a certain way ? or feel a certain way about things and people ?the answer is yes according to the Paweł Pawlikowski's Cold War film.

Pawel Pawlikowski's film centers on two powerfully acted role by Joanna Kulig as Zuzanna "Zula" Lichoń and Tomasz Kot as Wiktor Warski.The turbulent romance these two have takes place in post world war two in Poland.We first encounter Wiktor as he and his companions Lech and Irena travel in different villages recording folks song so that they could play them for the elite aligned to the Soviet empire.This also acts as a rebuilding of some sorts after the war has torn everything in its path.

The story is divide into seven seminal years .And it spans more than a decade as we see the betrayal,misfortune,a loss and rekindling of hope,failure ,jealousy and sacrifices they make for each other that in turn affect their lives.The narrative is structured in a way that makes one to come to a realization that other years-due the gaps the director creates- were wasted or they were just meaningless without each other. There is a sense that we are peeking in the diary entries of a lover without permission.

Enters Zula, a beautiful blond with a lively attitude towards life that immediately catches the eye of the conductor Wiktor, the back story is that she entered the musical band under false pretence, then Irena tells Wiktor that she was in prison for stabbing her father.

1952,Warsaw
Infatuated with each other the couple then forge a plan to cross the border, when in East Germany to go to France , so they could start a new life there. Wiktor is disappointed as Zula does not appear to meet him near the border crossing of Germany and France. Feeling disappointed by the love of his life. He makes life in France while making a living by playing Jazz in French bars. After gigs- he would sit calmly looking at the entrance of the cafe his sitting in hoping Zula would walk in. To his surprise she finally enters through the door.

1957,Paris.
Things are going well for WIcktor as he is rising up the societal ladder in his new Parisian life. He is in a studio recording a soundtrack for a film, then suddenly, enters Zula. She tells him she is married to an Italian man. Making it easier for her to travel. We see them beautifully embracing each other as they walk through a pebble-paved street. One can go on and on describing the relationship between these individuals and the connection to their homeland, it is a never-ending chain of conflict and tension- that never finds a resolution . Every shot taken sits exquisitely well to the overall structure of the film. This is a love story that is told in the midst of a heating up of tension between the west and the east,i.e, the Cold War. Cold War, not only tell a story about love it also ties in a phase in the world where people witnessed a cultural shift from one that is rigid to a one of variation; while birthing one that is constant to what is universal.