The doomed romance at the heart of Paweł Pawlikowski’s new film is one of utter tragedy and bewilderment. It’s fiery and intense, with equal parts charged passion and defiant defense mechanisms. It lasts decades but with only fleeting moments of togetherness. The love between Zula and Wiktor is endless yet corrosive – deep and selfish at the same time. It’s an enigma, and it’s one of the most beautiful stories told this year.
Set mostly against the backdrop of Soviet-controlled post-war Poland and smoke filled Paris nightclubs, Cold War might be reminiscent of classic love stories like Casablanca if it had a hint of optimism. Whether happiness is dashed by outside forces, fear, defensiveness, or the inability to sit still matters very little in the lives of Zula and Wiktor. What matters is that they continue to lose each other, but more importantly, that they continue to find each other.
Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) is a musician and composer traveling across Poland seeking out and recording rural and traditional folk music. He helps run a school which trains young singers and dancers for performances at government functions and exhibitions. One such student is Zula (Joanna Kulig), who intrigues Wiktor with her talent and brash, defiant attitude. Their romance begins in 1949 and lasts for twenty years, yet the amount of time they spend together is minimal due to the impossibility of the times and the turbulence of their personalities.
Wiktor and Zula will do almost anything for each other, except be happy and content. Each episode of reconciliation and reconnection is underscored by a catastrophe – self-made or otherwise – that lies in wait just around the corner. The boxed-in aspect ratio never lets the walls come down for Wiktor and Zula, and the gorgeous black and white photography never lets their love reach its full divine potential. There’s an aching sadness which hovers over each scene ready to rain down at the slightest glimpse of happiness. This burden is so heavy and long-lasting that, when the film reaches its conclusion, the final blow acts more as a release from sorrow rather than the last nail.
Cold War is a haunting portrayal of a love never fully realized or allowed to reach its natural conclusion. It’s brisk 85-minute runtime packs a lot of punch and spans a lot of time but feels just right. The chemistry between leads Kot and Kulig is in a league all its own. Watch them as they look at each other and then tell me what film this year has a better-acted romance. Through it all – the self-sabotage and self-defense – they remain enthralled by each other up until the very end. They need each other, but they also need to need each other to survive the hardships they’re forced to endure. Through this pair, Pawlikowski has created one of the best on-screen romances in decades – and one of the most devastating.
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.