Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • 3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)
    • 3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)
    • 3625. Ode To Joy (2019)
    • 3624. One Chance (2013)
    • 3623. Falling For Figaro (2020)
    • 3622. The Polka King (2017)
    • 3621. Spies In Disguise (2019)
    • 3620. Friendzone (2021)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»2265. Cold War (2018)

    2265. Cold War (2018)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on August 31, 2018 2018, 6 - 7.9, 80-89 mins, Aug 18, Drama, Movies Of 2018, Poland, Review, Romance
    7.3 Striking, albeit repetitive
    • Acting 7.4
    • Directing 7.3
    • Story 7.1
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Joanna Kulig, Tomasz Kot, Borys Szyc

    Director: Pawel Pawlikowski

    Running Time: 88 mins


    Cold War (Zimna wojna) is a Polish film about a man and a woman who meet while working in the propaganda division of the Polish government during the early 1950s, yet encounter numerous obstacles to their relationship as they are divided by the split between East and West.

    This is a film with a lot of style and a lot of character, featuring stunning cinematography, beautiful music and dance, and a fascinating setting on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain at the beginning of The Cold War, all of which make up some of the film’s most riveting elements.

    However, as striking as it is in that regard, the film stumbles with its narrative, getting stuck in a rather repetitive and episodic rhythm that doesn’t inspire the most enthralling emotional development throughout, and left me at times a little bored.

    Before I get into that, however, I want to talk about the film’s most striking and memorable element: the music. This is by no means a musical, but its story focuses on a man and a woman whose lives revolve entirely around music, so there are a good few musical breaks as we see them showing off their talents in a range of environments.

    And that’s what I really liked about the music here: the diversity. Rather than just sticking to one tune, the film showcases an enormous range of music, from Polish folk songs in the first act to sleek French jazz in the last, and a whole lot more in between. That diversity alone is enough to make each musical break absolutely brilliant to watch, but it’s furthered by the passion and energy that go into every one of those numbers, with director Pawel Pawlikowski doing a fantastic job at making the music stand out above everything else, and crafting an elegant and striking atmosphere around the songs on a consistent basis.

    That’s where the film’s beautiful visuals come in. Filmed in brilliant black-and-white, there’s a sharp and striking look to Cold War right from the start, and in combination with excellent camerawork that replicates the unique brilliance of Ida, Pawlikowski’s last work, every scene of this film is absolutely gorgeous to look at.

    What’s more is that each of those musical numbers receives a special attention to detail that makes them stand out even more, with the cinematography changing dramatically depending on whether we’re hearing a slow ballad in a smoky Parisian jazz club, or a mighty propaganda song in front of an enormous poster of Joseph Stalin.

    The whole film is directed with real passion and energy, making every scene a delight to look at, and cementing an incredibly elegant and striking atmosphere that pervades right the way through. As good as that is though, it’s not quite enough to make a thoroughly engrossing film, which is where Cold War really falls down.

    The story at hand is, at its core, a rather simple one. A man and a woman love each other, but find they can never be together due to a series of obstacles, whether it be the ideological divide between East and West, or their own personal situations coming round to stifle their romance.

    It’s a wonderful story, and one that works well with the film’s atmosphere, as well as providing a fascinating portrayal of life in the early Cold War on both sides of the Iron Curtain, but the way in which it develops over the course of 88 minutes is my biggest source of frustration in this movie.

    As elegant and passionate as their romance is, the film recounts it in a series of rather short vignettes, as we jump through the 1950s pretty much year-by-year, and that structure is just too jarring and episodic to really hammer home the emotion and drama lying underneath the surface.

    While it’s interesting to see how the man and the woman’s lives change so dramatically from year to year, the core focus of the movie – their romance – feels very repetitive. In each little vignette of a year, we see the two grow closer, only to be separated once again, and with a rather abrupt cut to black at the end of each episode, it’s really difficult to get to grips with the depth of their relationship without being distracted by the frustratingly repetitive nature of the narrative.

    I would have preferred to see the film showcase their story through the years in a more fluid structure, so that we come to focus more on the smaller details of how the characters change, rather than simply looking at the wider picture of where they are in the world, and whatever reason they can’t be together – again.

    Overall, I was impressed by Cold War, albeit largely on an aesthetic level. It’s a beautifully-filmed piece, complete with a very elegant atmosphere, sharp black-and-white cinematography, as well as a passionate portrayal of a wide range of wonderful music throughout. It’s not the most enthralling drama ever made, due to a frustratingly repetitive story structure, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t quite a bit to admire here, and that’s why I’m giving it a 7.3.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. Since January 1st, 2013, he has watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    7.1

    3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)

    5.8

    3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)

    7.9

    3625. Ode To Joy (2019)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    5.3
    January 17, 2022

    3620. Friendzone (2021)

    7.1
    January 10, 2022

    3612. The Lost Daughter (2021)

    8.0
    January 7, 2022

    3609. Licorice Pizza (2021)

    7.2
    January 7, 2022

    3608. Lamb (2021)

    7.4
    December 30, 2021

    3599. The King’s Man (2021)

    6.3
    December 29, 2021

    3598. The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

    8.4
    December 28, 2021

    3597. West Side Story (2021)

    6.3
    December 27, 2021

    3596. Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

    Recommended Movies
    9.7
    Review
    August 31, 20140

    675. Two For The Road (1967)

    8.3
    Review
    March 2, 20190

    2474. Sunny (써니) (2011)

    8.0
    Review
    September 26, 20200

    3102. Rocky II (1979)

    8.9
    Review
    April 9, 20140

    519. Hotel Rwanda (2004)

    8.1
    Review
    February 11, 20150

    853. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (2011)

    Popular Posts
    7.1
    January 24, 2022

    3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)

    5.8
    January 23, 2022

    3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)

    7.9
    January 22, 2022

    3625. Ode To Joy (2019)

    7.4
    January 21, 2022

    3624. One Chance (2013)

    6.3
    January 20, 2022

    3623. Falling For Figaro (2020)

    7.5
    January 19, 2022

    3622. The Polka King (2017)

    6.0
    January 18, 2022

    3621. Spies In Disguise (2019)

    © 2022 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.