Cold War (2018)

Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Stars: Joanna Kulig, Tomasz Kot, Borys Szyc
Runtime: 88 minutes

Synopsis: A love story taking place in various European cities during the Cold War.

• Performances: 8/10

Why? Despite the film's dialogue being in various languages I'm not fluent in (except French), the main two actors were able to deliver their lines not only through words but also through facial expressions, which I loved. Their line delivery in the only language I'm fluent in wasn't as authentic as I hoped it would be, which leads me to believe that the same can be said about the other languages, but since I wasn't focusing on that at all I can't say that it bothered me even a little.

• Screenplay: 5/10

Why? Loosely based on his parents' story, "Cold War" is obviously a very personal film for writer/director Pawel Pawlikowski. In fact, it was so personal to him that I sometimes felt that he wasn't watching it unfold from the audience's eyes which led to the romance being rushed and characters being underdeveloped. The story jumps a lot from year to year without telling us what was happening in between which, granted, can be seen as a way to let the viewer "fill in the blanks", but this is easier said than done when said viewers don't really connect with the characters. I'm sad to say that I was bored for the majority of the film's runtime, which, despite being only 88 minutes long, felt about twice as long.

• Costumes/Makeup: 9/10

Why? They reflected the era and location in which the film takes place as well as the state of the characters. They play a huge role in the movie's presentation even though they'll probably go unnoticed.

• Editing: 6/10

Why? The script may be the reason why the movie was as slow paced as it was, I can't say that its editing helped to make it better. The long time-jumps used made it look like a series of sketches rather than a comprehensive love story between 2 characters the audience care about.

• Cinematography: 9/10

Why? Cold War is the best looking 1950s movie to come out in recent years. The decision to shoot it in black and white worked beautifully and many scenes in it were absolutely breathtaking. It blended incredibly well with the story told and made the movie worth watching.

• Score/Soundtrack: 9/10

Why? My favorite part of the film. "Cold War" may be a love story before anything else, but it's also the story of an up and coming folk singer with a beautiful voice. The songs are absolutely beautiful and play a big part in the development of the character played by Joanna Kulig.

FINAL GRADE: 7/10