Good but could have been better

Rating: 7/10 (6 April 2019)

In the late 1940s, Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) and Irena (Agata Kulesza) are musical experts assigned to audition and assemble young peasants from rural Poland to form a choral group. One singer is Zula (Joanna Kulig) who later becomes involved with Wiktor. Their story covers many tours in Communist Europe and later includes the jazz scene in Paris in the 1960s.
"Cold War" is beautifully directed by Pawel Pawlikowski who was also directed "Ida" (2013). Like "Ida", "Cold War is blessed with beautiful black and white cinematography. It also has stunning music in a variety of forms including peasant folk, jazz, and classical.
It is inevitable to compare "Cold War" with "Ida" in other ways. Kulesza had a supporting role in both of them though her role in "Ida" was more prominent. In her few scenes in "Cold War", she plays an artistic director who is at odds with the shallow Communist authorities who work to manipulate the choir as a propaganda tool. The film would have benefited if Kulesza's role had been expanded.
Also, like "Ida", there were some rash decisions made by main characters that were incomprehensible. In "Ida", this occurred only in the second major role (the one played by Kulesza). In "Cold War", it is both Irena and Wiktor who act oddly in ways that are not understandable - at least to those who have not lived through the harrowing experience of eastern Europeans who survived WW2 and then subsequently lived through Communism. Nevertheless, Kulig and Kot are passionate as lovers in a very difficult time and there is little doubt that "Cold War" is a film that pleases the senses on many levels. - dbamateurcritic