First of all, I have to say that I am not really a movie
fan. I don’t often go to the movies but last November, I watched a movie called
Cold War directed by
Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) and Irina, two music teachers who want the Warsaw
city-dwellers to discover Polish folklore. They travel to the secluded
countryside to record old traditional songs. A bit later they decide to create
a company composed of talented young peasants that will sing and dance the
traditional Polish songs. During the auditions, Wiktor discovers a gifted young
singer called Zula (. They
immediately fall in love. The traditional company has a real success all around
Poland and its neighboring countries. Political Polish and USSR leaders also
really appreciate their work but want to use this company as a propaganda tool:
they want them to sing songs to the glory of the USSR… Between state oppression
and lies, Zula and Wiktor’s relationship is going to be complicated. There will
be many unexpected events and they will have to travel between the East and the
West including to Paris and deal with the Cold War.
This movie is only shot in black and white which gives it
a special atmosphere. Even if there are no colors, there are dark and light
contrasts which bring different tones. Mastering black and white is a
characteristic of Pawel Pawlikowski’s movies (for example his movie Ida).
Cold War won the “Prix de la mise en scène” at Cannes 2018. I think that it
really deserves it since the historical reconstitution was very well done.
Music is also very important in this movie with many beautiful
traditional Polish songs and a music theme that follows the actors throughout
the whole movie.
To conclude I would strongly recommend this beautiful
movie to those who like historical movies and impossible loves.
Camille Metz
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