Which is the lead member of this choir?
Borders, and the consequences of breaking them, are everywhere in Cold War (2018). The title provides the context, starting in post-World War II Poland, newly Communist Poland, at a farm where the estate owner has been dispossessed, and it’s now to be occupied by a forming corp of peasant singing and dance group. Rumors abound about blonde Zula, who they say shot her father to death. When asked why by her lover, Wiktor, the leader of the group, she replies that her father had been unable to distinguish between herself and her mother, with all that implies about the consequences of forbidden border breaches – and that Wiktor shouldn’t worry, as she hadn’t actually killed him.
The group achieves a certain competency and prominence, and goes on tour. In East Berlin, an opportunity to escape the East Bloc arises, and it’s alluring for Wiktor, as he feels he has little opportunity for artistic growth under the shadow of the corrupt Soviets. Zula is along for the ride, but can’t accompany Wiktor due to a last moment interruption, and so Wiktor alone escapes to experience the angst of starting over as a musician in the West, landing at Paris.
The story jumps from meeting to meeting between our star-crossed pair, from her marrying a Westerner and leaving the East Bloc, to her return, to his following her. Each breaching of that ideological /geographical boundary, and several others, lead to serious disruptions and even degradations of their lives, but the drive of their love keeps them coming back for more.
Until they approach that last and most basic boundary and breach: marriage.
This movie was filmed in a sepia tone which contributes to its ambiance of European nihilism. The characters are almost mysteriously expressionless, and the younger audience might benefit from some research into how the surveillance society of the Soviet Union and its allies in the East Bloc affected those so surveilled, leaving them almost desperately private as to their inner lives, expressed only through furtive sexuality, whispers in hidden places.
I greatly enjoyed, or admired, this story for not beating key points into my brain. A flippant response to a question, for example, communicates to us his exile to Siberia for 15 years. This approach assumes an observant and intelligent audience. Of course, such assumptions can result in stories in which too little is communicated, but this story seems to have caught the proper balancing point.
This is not an uplifting movie; it’s puzzling, frustrating, and requires a lot of thought as you watch. But it’s a reminder that other ways of life have serious consequences for the individual – and, yet, those ways of life may be necessary logical steps, given their historical social contexts.
If you know Polish and French, that will help, but it’s captioned in English. And the music, at least in the early stages, is quite fun, according to my Arts Editor.
