# Cold War (2018 film)

Cold War (Polish: Zimna wojna) is a 2018 historical drama film directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, who co-wrote the screenplay with Janusz Głowacki and Piotr Borkowski. It is an international co-production by producers in Poland, France and the United Kingdom. Set in Poland and France during the Cold War from the late 1940s until the 1960s, the story follows a musical director (Tomasz Kot) who discovers a young singer (Joanna Kulig), exploring their subsequent love story over the years. The film, which was loosely inspired by the lives of Pawlikowski's parents, also features Borys Szyc, Agata Kulesza, Cédric Kahn and Jeanne Balibar in supporting roles.
Cold War premiered at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival on 10 May 2018. Critics praised its acting, screenplay, direction and cinematography. The film has received numerous accolades, including three nominations at the 91st Academy Awards (Best Foreign Language Film, Best Director and Best Cinematography) and four at the 72nd BAFTA Film Awards, as well as six awards from seven nominations at the 31st European Film Awards, winning the main Best Film Award.

## Plot

In post-World War II Poland, director and composer Wiktor, manager Kaczmarek, and choreographer Irena are holding auditions for a state-sponsored folk music ensemble. Wiktor's attention is immediately captured by Zula, an ambitious and captivating young woman who is faking a peasant identity and is on probation after attacking her abusive father. Wiktor and Zula quickly develop a strong, obsessive attraction and have sex after a performance. Wiktor and Irena are pressured by bureaucrats to include pro-Communist and pro-Stalinist propaganda in their performances—in exchange, the troupe would be allowed to tour the Eastern Bloc. Wiktor and Irena oppose this, but the career-driven, opportunistic Kaczmarek agrees, and a resentful Irena quits. Kaczmarek is also interested in Zula and pressures her into spying on Wiktor for him, but Zula does not reveal any incriminating information. When the ensemble visits East Berlin, Wiktor plans to flee to the West with Zula, and the two affirm their love and passion. Zula fails to come to the rendezvous with Wiktor, and he crosses the border alone.
Years later, Zula meets Wiktor in Paris, where he is working at a jazz club. They both have other partners, but their continued mutual attraction is clear. When Wiktor asks Zula why she failed to appear with him to cross the border, she says that she lacked confidence in herself. A year later, Wiktor attends one of the troupe's performances in Yugoslavia, where Zula spots him in the audience and becomes visibly shaken. Two years later, Wiktor is working as a film score composer in Paris, where Zula reunites with him. She has married another man to obtain a visa so that she could travel to Paris and be with Wiktor. Wiktor attempts to build a singing career for Zula. He embellishes her backstory to make her more interesting to film producer Michel, which annoys Zula. Zula becomes jealous of Wiktor's past lovers, and as work on her record strains their relationship, she begins to drink heavily and misbehave in public. Wiktor and Zula finish Zula's record, but a disappointed Zula remains frustrated and unhappy. She reveals that she had an affair with Michel and insults Wiktor, and he strikes her. She later disappears, and Wiktor confronts Michel, who states she has returned to Poland.
Against the advice of a Polish embassy official in Paris, Wiktor returns to Poland. Zula meets with him at a work camp, where he reveals that he has been sentenced to a "generous" 15 years of hard labor on charges of defecting and espionage; his hand is visibly disfigured. Zula bribes a guard for time alone with him, and promises to free him. Five years later, a freed Wiktor meets with Kaczmarek at a club where Zula, now a barely-functioning alcoholic, is performing. Zula arranged for an early release for Wiktor by agreeing to marry Kaczmarek, and now has a 4 year old son; Kaczmarek is unsure his son looks like him. Wiktor and Zula escape to a bathroom together, where a miserable and defeated Zula begs Wiktor to rescue her. The two take a bus to an abandoned church seen at the beginning of the film, where they exchange marriage vows and seemingly prepare to commit suicide together. After ingesting pills, the couple is seen sitting outside, observing the landscape. Zula suggests they view it "from the other side," and the two stand and depart from view, as wheat fields sway in the wind.

## Cast

* Joanna Kulig as Zuzanna "Zula" Lichoń
* Tomasz Kot as Wiktor Warski
* Borys Szyc as Lech Kaczmarek
* Agata Kulesza as Irena Bielecka
* Jeanne Balibar as Juliette
* Cédric Kahn as Michel
* Adam Woronowicz as consul
* Adam Ferency as minister

## Reception
### Box office

Cold War grossed $4.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $20.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $25 million.
In the film's opening weekend in the United States it made $54,353 from three theaters, an average of $18,118 per venue. In its sixth weekend of release, following its three Oscar nominations, the film made $571,650 from 111 theaters.

### Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 255 reviews, and an average rating of 8.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "With a brilliantly stark visual aesthetic to match its lean narrative, Cold War doesn't waste a moment of its brief running time — and doesn't skimp on its bittersweet emotional impact." Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 90 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Giuseppe Sedia of the Krakow Post wrote, "...less hieratic than Ida, Cold War has a lot to offer to the audience. Maybe Pawlikowski would have not won Best Director Award at Cannes if it wasn't for the sumptuous acting displayed in this cruel, jazz-drenched and Mizoguchi-esque tale of two lovers". Writing in The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw wrote that this is a "musically glorious and visually ravishing film" that "is about the dark heart of Poland itself".

### Adaptations

In September 2023, it was announced that Cold War was to be adapted into a musical at the Almeida Theatre in London. The new adaptation by writer Conor McPherson and the Almeida’s artistic director Rupert Goold will feature music by Elvis Costello as well as traditional Polish folk songs and choral works.

### Accolades

| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
| Academy Awards | Best Director | Paweł Pawlikowski | Nominated | |
| Academy Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Paweł Pawlikowski | Nominated | |
| Academy Awards | Best Cinematography | Łukasz Żal | Nominated | |
| Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best Non-English Film | Cold War | Nominated | |
| American Society of Cinematographers | Outstanding Cinematography | Łukasz Żal | Won | |
| Belgian Film Critics Association | Grand Prix | Cold War | Won | |
| BAFTA Awards | Best Direction | Paweł Pawlikowski | Nominated | [19] [20] |
| BAFTA Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Janusz Głowacki and Paweł Pawlikowski | Nominated | [19] [20] |
| BAFTA Awards | Best Film Not in the English Language | Cold War | Nominated | [19] [20] |
| BAFTA Awards | Best Cinematography | Łukasz Żal | Nominated | [19] [20] |
| British Independent Film Awards | Best International Independent Film | Paweł Pawlikowski, Janusz Głowacki, Ewa Puszczynska and Tanya Seghatchian | Nominated | |
| Cannes Film Festival | Best Director | Paweł Pawlikowski | Won | |
| Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | Paweł Pawlikowski | Nominated | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Foreign Language Film | Cold War | Nominated | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Cinematography | Łukasz Żal | Nominated | |
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Cold War | Nominated | |
| Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association | Best Foreign Language Film | Cold War | Runner-up | |
| European Film Awards | Best Film | Cold War | Won | |
| European Film Awards | Best Director | Paweł Pawlikowski | Won | |
| European Film Awards | Best Screenwriter | Paweł Pawlikowski | Won | |
| European Film Awards | Best Actress | Joanna Kulig | Won | |
| European Film Awards | Best Actor | Tomasz Kot | Nominated | |
| European Film Awards | Best Editor | Jarosław Kamiński | Won | |
| European Film Awards | People's Choice Award | Cold War | Won | [27] [28] |
| Film Fest Gent | Grand Prix | Cold War | Won | |
| Florida Film Critics Circle | Best Cinematography | Lukasz Zal | Won | |
| Gaudí Awards | Best European Film | Cold War | Won | |
| Goya Awards | Best European Film | Cold War | Won | |
| Guldbagge Awards | Best Foreign Film | Paweł Pawlikowski | Nominated | |
| Houston Film Critics Society | Best Foreign Language Film | Cold War | Nominated | |
| Location Managers Guild Awards | Outstanding Locations in Period Film | Bartosz Bednarz, Michal Sliwkiewicz | Nominated | |
| National Board of Review | Best Foreign Language Film | Cold War | Won | |
| New York Film Critics Circle | Best Foreign Language Film | Cold War | Won | |
| New York Film Critics Online | Best Foreign Language Film | Cold War | Won | |
| Polish Film Awards | Best Film | Cold War | Won | |
| Polish Film Awards | Best Director | Paweł Pawlikowski | Won | |
| Polish Film Awards | Best Actor | Tomasz Kot | Nominated | |
| Polish Film Awards | Best Actress | Joanna Kulig | Won | |
| Polish Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Borys Szyc | Nominated | |
| Polish Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Agata Kulesza | Nominated | |
| Polish Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Paweł Pawlikowski and Janusz Głowacki | Won | |
| Polish Film Awards | Best Cinematography | Łukasz Żal | Won | |
| Polish Film Awards | Best Production Design | Katarzyna Sobańska and Marcel Sławiński | Nominated | |
| Polish Film Awards | Best Costume Design | Aleksandra Staszko | Nominated | |
| Polish Film Awards | Best Editing | Jarosław Kamiński | Won | |
| Polish Film Awards | Best Sound | Maciej Pawłowski and Mirosław Makowski | Won | |
| San Diego Film Critics Society | Best Foreign Language Film | Cold War | Nominated | |
| San Francisco Film Critics Circle | Best Foreign Language Film | Cold War | Nominated | |
| San Francisco Film Critics Circle | Best Cinematography | Łukasz Żal | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Cold War | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Cinematography | Łukasz Żal | Nominated | |
| Toronto Film Critics Association | Best Foreign Language Film | Cold War | Runner-up | |
| Washington D.C. Film Critics Association | Best Foreign Language Film | Cold War | Nominated | |