Pawel Pawlikowski follows up Ida with another first-rate monochrome drama told against the backdrop of the Cold War in 1950s Poland, Berlin, Yugoslavia and Paris. Two people from disparate backgrounds who are both in one way or another escaping their past, are thrown fatefully together by a State sponsored talent contest seeking authentic traditional Polish folk singers and dancers. The story of a love affair that spans different time frames and countries, this is an eloquent meditation on the impossibility of love and state sponsored fear.
Cold War gets reviewed in our August Film Podcast. Skip to the 21.25 mark to hear what we had to say…