******* Wild Thing

Rating: Null/10 (11 January 2019)

"Cold War" is just another example of why European filmmaking is leaving Hollywood in the dust; if you want to see motion picture achievement, watch an imported film. Problem is they're not available in very many theaters, and "Cold War" is another casualty. In New York City it is being shown in two theaters, which a loss for moviegoers looking for something special in movies.
Zula is an ambitious peasant girl with a restless spirit but is trapped behind the Iron Curtain. It 's 1949 in Poland and she comes to tryout for a Polish national musical troupe. She falls in love with its director who is looking for an excuse to defect to the west. He tries to take her with him but she is unable to follow. Years pass and they meet now and then on Tour stops. It is the saddest love story I have ever seen.
Director Pawlikowski has captured the texture and feel of the post-war era behind and in front of the Iron Curtain - at least to my satisfaction, not having been there. Joanna Kulig is excellent as the beleagured Zula, a girl and then a woman tossed along in the rapids that is her life. The overriding feel is of separation and emptiness which is accentuated by the black and white cinematography. It is definitely worth your time if, like myself, you feel unfulfilled by current Hollywood fare.
7/10 - Website no longer prints my star rating.