Cold War - Guerra Fria

Visualmente, Pawlikowski destaca-se ainda mais do que no filme Ida, vencedor do Óscar, após o que repetiu a imagem a preto e branco e a relação de aspeto, e pelo menos na primeira meia hora o seu filme consegue encantar com a sua direção predatória e dinâmica e a história de um corpo de canto de dança popular que tem de se submeter aos desejos do regime. No entanto, o enredo principal que se segue, um melodrama sobre dois protagonistas pouco simpáticos que querem tanto estar juntos, mas que fazem tudo o que podem para garantir que não podem estar juntos, cansa-se mais depressa do que a repetida canção de «oioioioi». (03/07/2018)

Um pretenso melodrama de arte em que a dupla central repetidamente e VOLUNTARIAMENTE escolha caminhos na vida diferentes ao de estarem juntos, apenas para o lamentar depois. E assim, ocasionalmente encontram-se ao longo dos anos para se perguntarem um ao outro como é que estão. Além disso, um filme sem emoções que talvez NÃO DESEJE que experimente o seu amor e NÃO PRECISA que compreenda todas as escolhas que eles fizeram. Um melodrama sobre um casal tão preto e branco como a sua bonita composição de imagem de 4:3. Terceira estrela por causa dela. Um filme frio. [Cannes] (12/05/2018)

I just don’t understand how a movie, which is the least comprehensible in terms of filmmaking I have seen in years, can get into the Oscar nominations for foreign language film category. Despite the fact that the Poles are now making so many much nicer movies. Of course, this film has also some qualities, that’s without saying. The idea of telling a story in the form of fragmentary scenes that are constantly torn to reconnect under the onslaught of Polish bagpipers is a virtuous and original idea. But I still had a hard time to not switch the TV off wanting to never see this film again after yet another scene with the bagpipers or the singing girl. In the end I finished the movie, I admit it’s original but… I don’t want to ever watch it again! If Cold War wins the Oscar for foreign language film, it will not win because of the movie itself, but because the Polish cinematography is currently the best one in Europe. (07/02/2019)

Polish folk songs were never so sexy. Besides that, Pawlikovski’s balladic overview of the history of music and of Europe captivated me with its high-contrast black-and-white camera work and highly economical storytelling with sharp cuts, sudden jumps in time and numerous meanings communicated via the mise-en-scène without verbal explanation, thanks to which the film is able to cover some fifteen years of history in just under ninety minutes. At the same time, the atmosphere remains consistent, while the musical style changes along with the degree of frustration felt by the protagonists, who still do not have that which they desire. Cold War is obviously a film under the spell of post-war European cinema (in addition to its academic format, this is also apparent in the number of European countries and languages represented) – not by any means only Soviet-style musicals such as Tomorrow, People Will Be Dancing Everywhere against which it is critically defined – with which it has much more in common than with reality. At the same time, however, the plot is complicated and lovers are separated by the political repression of the time that discomfited artists in communist countries had to face. The major simplification of socio-political contexts, psychological flatness of the characters and bold stylisation serve well the timeless fatalistic story of unrequited love (in whose case it does not matter too much that we are watching only certain [arche]types instead of full-blooded heroes), but as a statement on a particular time and the people of that particular time, which it also wants to be, Cold War fails for the same reason. But if you want to see a very obliging art film that does not put numerous obstacles in the viewer’s way, it is unlikely that you will see anything nicer in the cinemas. 70% (10/07/2018)

I spent my entire youth in communist ugliness, but today I look at it like an exotic animal in a zoo somewhere. Foldyna and Kateřina Konečná probably shed a nostalgic tear at the sight of the Soviets honouring Stalin, but fortunately for the rest of us, our memories have been irretrievably swept away by time. The film thankfully doesn't get too caught up in politics and is aesthetically beautiful, I haven't seen such stunning black and white cinematography in a long time, it's a treasure these days. The love story is simple but touching, the protagonist reminded me of Léa Seydoux, charismatic and beautiful. And she sang beautifully, whether Polish folk songs, which also have something to them, or chanson. The ending is all the more crushing in its austerity, without any cheap tear-jerking. (15/07/2022)