ReelBob: ‘Cold War’ ★★★

By Bob Bloom

Not all love stories are happy affairs: “Romeo and Juliet” is tragic, “Wuthering Heights” is haunted and “Love Story” is sad — and sappy.

“Cold War,” though, is cold and bleak. That doesn’t mean the movie lacks sparks and passion.

This Polish import — a strong bet for a best foreign-language film Academy Award nomination — chronicles the on-again, off-again love affair of Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) and Zula (Joanna Kulig).

The movie, which is set against the backdrop of the Cold War, follows from their first meeting in 1949 to the movie’s fadeout in 1964.

Wiktor and Zula are indeed star-crossed lovers: different in temperament and from different backgrounds.

Politics, their flaws and various twists of fate conspire over the years to keep them apart, as the movie travels from postwar Poland to East Berlin, Yugoslavia, Paris and back to Poland.

The movie is told as a series of vignettes as Wiktor and Zula follow their destinies, converging whenever — and wherever — possible.

They are the loves of each other’s life, but Zula seems tied to her Polish roots, while Wiktor, a composer and pianist, yearns to be free of the cultural restrictions enforced by the puppet Polish officials and their Soviet masters.

The movie’s major drawback is that the protagonists are sketchily constructed. They function more as symbols of their times than fully developed individuals.

“Cold War” is underwritten by music and mood. As the film progresses, the musical themes move from lively Polish folk songs to Soviet propaganda anthems; then to the smoky, bluesy and jazz cabarets of Paris.

Throughout, though, the tone remains melancholy — and not simply because the film was shot in black and white. An unhappy pall hangs over the movie, keeping the lovers from basking in true happiness.

Director Pawel Pawilikowski, who also coauthored the script, seems to be pointing a finger at politics for contriving to keep Wiktor and Zula from true happiness.

That is not the case, though. When Wiktor decides to defect and asks Zula to accompany him, she agrees — but fails to meet him at their rendezvous point.

Her reason, she tells him years later, was fear — not of failing to escape, but of the uncertainty of their future in the West.

The lovers are damaged individuals — they inflict as much emotional pain as they do pleasure.

Yet, their mutual attraction survives all the pitfalls fate and the world throw at them.

That is what makes “Cold War” so seductive and frustrating. It seems every time Wiktor and Zula meet, they are pulled apart — either by their emotional defects or by outside influences.

The black-and-white cinematography helps create an aching landscape that entices you.

“Cold War” is a story of devotion, recrimination, sacrifice and love — in all its imperfections.

It meanders a bit, but always returns to its beating-heart core.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.

COLD WAR
3 stars out of 4
(R), sexual content, nudity, language