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Cold War

Original title: Zimna wojna
  • 2018
  • R
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
59K
YOUR RATING
Tomasz Kot and Joanna Kulig in Cold War (2018)
A passionate love story between two people of different backgrounds and temperaments, who are fatefully mismatched and yet 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.
Play trailer1:50
22 Videos
99+ Photos
DramaMusicRomance

In the 1950s, a music director falls in love with a singer and tries to persuade her to flee communist Poland for France.In the 1950s, a music director falls in love with a singer and tries to persuade her to flee communist Poland for France.In the 1950s, a music director falls in love with a singer and tries to persuade her to flee communist Poland for France.

  • Director
    • Pawel Pawlikowski
  • Writers
    • Pawel Pawlikowski
    • Janusz Glowacki
    • Piotr Borkowski
  • Stars
    • Joanna Kulig
    • Tomasz Kot
    • Borys Szyc
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    59K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Pawel Pawlikowski
    • Writers
      • Pawel Pawlikowski
      • Janusz Glowacki
      • Piotr Borkowski
    • Stars
      • Joanna Kulig
      • Tomasz Kot
      • Borys Szyc
    • 232User reviews
    • 307Critic reviews
    • 90Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 3 Oscars
      • 50 wins & 127 nominations total

    Videos22

    Trailer 2
    Trailer 1:50
    Watch Trailer 2
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:59
    Watch Official Trailer
    Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
    Trailer 0:31
    Watch Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
    Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
    Trailer 0:28
    Watch Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
    Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
    Trailer 0:31
    Watch Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
    Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
    Trailer 0:31
    Watch Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
    Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
    Trailer 2:20
    Watch Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
    My Life Was Better in Poland
    Clip 1:29
    Watch My Life Was Better in Poland
    What Did You Do Time For?
    Clip 1:13
    Watch What Did You Do Time For?
    Cold War: I've Been Ratting On You
    Clip 1:58
    Watch Cold War: I've Been Ratting On You
    Cold War: Two Hearts, Four Eyes
    Clip 1:49
    Watch Cold War: Two Hearts, Four Eyes
    Cold War: Dancing
    Clip 1:50
    Watch Cold War: Dancing

    Photos131

    Tomasz Kot and Joanna Kulig in Cold War (2018)
    Pawel Pawlikowski, Tomasz Kot, and Joanna Kulig at an event for Cold War (2018)
    Pawel Pawlikowski at an event for Cold War (2018)
    Pawel Pawlikowski at an event for Cold War (2018)
    Cold War (2018)
    Cold War (2018)
    Cold War (2018)
    Cold War (2018)
    Cold War (2018)
    Cold War (2018)
    Tomasz Kot and Joanna Kulig in Cold War (2018)
    Tomasz Kot and Joanna Kulig in Cold War (2018)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Joanna Kulig
    Joanna Kulig
    • Zula
    Tomasz Kot
    Tomasz Kot
    • Wiktor
    Borys Szyc
    Borys Szyc
    • Kaczmarek
    Agata Kulesza
    Agata Kulesza
    • Irena
    Cédric Kahn
    Cédric Kahn
    • Michel
    Jeanne Balibar
    Jeanne Balibar
    • Juliette
    Adam Woronowicz
    Adam Woronowicz
    • Consul
    Adam Ferency
    Adam Ferency
    • Minister
    Drazen Sivak
    • Sleuth 1
    Slavko Sobin
    Slavko Sobin
    • Sleuth 2
    Aloïse Sauvage
    Aloïse Sauvage
    • Waitress
    Adam Szyszkowski
    Adam Szyszkowski
    • Guard
    Anna Zagórska
    • Ania
    Tomasz Markiewicz
    • Leader of ZMP
    Izabela Andrzejak
    • Mazurek
    Kamila Borowska
    • Mazurek
    Katarzyna Ciemniejewska
    • Mazurek
    Joanna Depczynska
    • Mazurek
    • Director
      • Pawel Pawlikowski(direction)
    • Writers
      • Pawel Pawlikowski
      • Janusz Glowacki
      • Piotr Borkowski
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The turbulent relationship between the main characters was inspired by the director Pawel Pawlikowski's real-life parents, who did break up and get together a couple of times, who moved from one country to another, and according to Pawlekowski, died together.
    • Goofs
      When Wiktor crosses the border to West-Berlin in 1952, we can see on the horizon a high-rise with a rotating Mercedes-Benz star on the top. This is supposed to be the famous Europa-Center, but that was built in 1963 and only completed in 1965. It's probably poetic license to visually distinguish the capitalist West from the communist East.
    • Quotes

      Zula: He mistook me for my mother and a knife showed him the difference.

    • Connections
      Featured in Premios Goya 33 edición (2019)
    • Soundtracks
      Pukolem wololem
      Performed by Tomasz Kicinski & Michal Mocek

    User reviews232

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Not as Good of a Film as the Camera Wants You to Believe
    The first time I saw Cold War, I fell asleep halfway through it at AFI Fest 2018. That was my fourth film of the day, and I was extremely tired. I felt very bad, so I was very eager for when the film would be released to the public so that I could give it another try. Today is that day.

    Well, after seeing it for a second time (and unfortunately being two to three minutes late), I actually think there was more than tiredness that caused me to fall asleep in the first screening. I truly think that Cold War is the epitome of what style over substance is. This film has such a bad plot, uninteresting characters, and a story that flashed through more than a decade in eighty-five minutes. Cold War tries to disguise its faults with spectacular black and white cinematography, a stunning vocal score, and a pretentious choice of a historical time period, but I was not fooled for one bit.

    The plot was so thin that I could not even begin to describe how ridiculously simple, yet annoying it was:

    "Man who is a musical director finds a female singer with incredible talent. He leads her to fame. One day they eye-flirt at a party. They bang pretty intensely. Then, one year goes by without talking to each other. They meet one day on the sidewalk. They both declare they have significant others. But, because of their erratic attraction for each other, they have intercourse again. And then they bang again and again. Then they go on tour. She gets more famous. Then, five years go by. After not speaking to each other, they meet each other yet again. They both declare they are married to other people. But because of their lustful nature, they BANG yet again. And again. Then they decide to drop their husband/wife and become a couple. They start to fight. Then they bang to make up. Then she gets mad at him. Then she slaps him. Then seven years go by. They bang. Then, they get married. The end."

    In other words, the plot of this film revolves around two people whose love affair can be simplified as "hey baby, let's get it on." There is hardly any dialogue between them that is romantically sincere. It is all just sexual or boring exposition. I felt nothing for these two people. And I really didn't care.

    For all you love it to death, good for you. But I prefer films with better developed characters at the expense of extremely pretentious cinematography. How about the Before Trilogy that isn't beautifully shot by any means, but the characters are excellently portrayed.

    All in all, I wish this film was better than the camera thinks it is.
    helpful•33
    41
    • andrewestrella
    • Jan 17, 2019

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 8, 2018 (Poland)
    • Countries of origin
      • Poland
      • United Kingdom
      • France
      • Belgium
    • Official sites
      • Hakka Distribution Page
      • Kino Swiat (Poland)
    • Languages
      • Polish
      • French
      • Croatian
      • German
      • Russian
      • Serbian
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • Chiến Tranh Lạnh
    • Filming locations
      • Croatia
    • Production companies
      • Opus Film
      • Polski Instytut Sztuki Filmowej
      • MK2 Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • €4,300,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $4,580,048
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $54,353
      • Dec 23, 2018
    • Gross worldwide
      • $20,346,993
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 29 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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