Five years since his previous Oscar-winning drama Ida, Paweł Pawlikowski now makes a stunning return with his latest romantic drama Cold War. The film initially premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. Opening to high praise, it found itself at the top of many “best of Cannes” lists (including our own). Even more remarkable is Pawlikowski’s direction on the film, which garnished him the Best Director award at the festival. Courtesy of Film4, we now have the U.K. trailer for Cold War.
Set in the 1950s in Poland, Berlin, Yugoslavia, and Paris, Cold War centers on Zula (played by Joanna Kulig) and Wiktor (played by Tomasz Kot), a young couple who find themselves to be “fatefully mismatched” with one another. Over the course of nearly two decades, the film explores the intricacies of their relationship – all while the political pressures of the Cold War are felt within the background.
Alongside Joanna Kulig and Tomasz Kot, Cold War stars Borys Szyc, Agata Kulesza, Cédric Kahn, Jeanne Balibar, and Adam Woronowicz. Additionally, Pawlikowski reteams with Oscar-nominated Ida cinematographer Lukasz Zal. In his Cannes review, our own Rory O’Connor praised Zal’s camerawork and the critical aesthetics he achieved: “Given Ida’s runaway success, we should forgive — perhaps even commend — Pawlikowski for returning to that film’s rich well of aesthetic confections: the post-war setting, the black-and-white imagery, the “Academy” screen ratio, the folk & jazz music and the glamour. Significantly, Lukasz Zal returns as cinematographer and, just as significantly, comes with a little more cash to burn… [he] shoots their increasingly elaborate performances head-on and with gloriously flat lighting.”
Cold War will hit U.K. theaters on August 31 and U.S. theaters on December 21. Check out the mesmerizing new trailer below, along with the poster.
Cold War is a passionate love story between two people of different backgrounds and temperaments, who are fatally mismatched and yet fatefully condemned to each other. Set against the background of the Cold War in the 1950s in Poland, Berlin, Yugoslavia and Paris, the film depicts an impossible love story in impossible times.
