History Film / ColdWar

''Cold War'' (in Polish ''Zimna wojna'') is a 2018 Polish drama film directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, starring Joanna Kulig and Tomasz Kot.

''Cold War'' (in Polish ''Zimna wojna'') is a 2018 Polish drama film directed by the Paweł Pawlikowski, starring Joanna Kulig and Tomasz Kot.

* AdvertisedExtra: [[spoiler:Agata Kulesza, playing Bielecka, is in grand total of 8 scenes and leaves after initial 12 minutes. Borys Szyc, who played Kaczmarek, is a downplayed case (since he stopped being an A-lister long time ago), but he still shows up only for a handful of scenes sprinkled throughout the whole film]].
* TheAlcoholic: Strongly implied in the end with Zula. She looks and behaves the part, along with being piss-drunk while performing on stage. Considering what kind of things she did [[spoiler:to Wiktor and then to get him out of prison]], it's no wonder she turned to the bottle.
* AmbiguousEnding: [[spoiler:Did Zula and Wiktor's attempt at suicide fail? Or is the final scene a LiteralMetaphor of them passing on the other side?]]

* AttemptedRape: Zula's father tried to rape her, but she defended herself with a knife. That's at least her version of events. She still has two years of suspended sentence for that.

* {{Blackmail}}: Due to a suspended sentence and possibility of prison, Zula agrees to [[spoiler:spy on Wiktor for Kaczmarek]].
* BookEnds: In the end, Zula and Wiktor decide to go back to the ruined church that Wiktor explored in the beginning. [[spoiler:They intend to commit suicide there.]]

* ColdBloodedTorture: [[spoiler:The most likely reason why Wiktor's hand looks like put through a meat grinder]].

* DestructiveRomance: [[spoiler:Zula and Wiktor are finally DrivenToSuicide.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Zula and Wiktor. In the end, they decide to commit suicide.]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The entire casting scene is one for Zula. While waiting for her turn, she befriends another girl and performs with her to make herself more noticable (despite not even coming from mountains and yet singing a folk song from there). When asked to sing something on her own and sensing Bielecka doesn't want her, she starts singing in Russian, making it thus hard to get rid of her for political reasons. And when told it's enough, she still demands on her own to finish the refrain. Bielecka instantly notes the girl is calculating and over-ambitious, but since Wiktor is charmed by her, she's still let into the troupe.
* FemmeFatale: Zula combines the coldness with being ruthless, while she doesn't shy from using her looks to achieve her goals. She actively plays on Wiktor's interest in her to just get into Mazurek and then marries ''twice'' to different men just to achieve what she wants.
* {{Fingore}}: [[spoiler:When Zula visits Wiktor in prison, she notices his hand was wrecked, most likely on purpose]].
* GreenEyedMonster: In Paris, Zula is very jealous of Juliette, the ex-girlfriend of Wiktor. This is one of the main reason why she goes back to Poland. In turn, she makes Wiktor jealous of her relationship with Michel.

* HellholePrison: The prison where Wiktor is sent when he goes back to Poland. When he finally goes out, he cannot play the piano any more due to a completely mangled hand.
* HeroicSeductress: Zula charms Kaczmarek and [[spoiler:even has a child with him]] in order to get Wiktor's release.
* HoneyTrap: In the beginning of their relationship, Zula confesses to Wiktor that she spies on him for Kaczmarek.
* IronicName: Wiktor, who is utterly defeated by love, politics and life itself.

* LoveMakesYouDumb: After escaping from the country, Wiktor can't find his place in Paris and is longing for Zula. He travels to places where Mazurek performs and ultimately [[spoiler:goes back to Poland in the end, despite everyone outright telling him it's lethal level of stupidity]].

* TheMasochismTango: The toxic, violent and dysfunctional relationship between Zula and Wiktor. And while they can't stand each other for prolonged periods of time, they also ''can't live without each other''. [[spoiler:They eventually opt for double suicide]].
* MarriageOfConvenience: Despite being married twice, Zula couldn't care less about either of her husbands. This even includes [[spoiler:having a son just for the sake of convenience]].

* OppositesAttract: Played realistically. Since there is close to nothing Wiktor and Zula share aside attraction, each time they try to be together eventually leads to violent break-up and then spending few years trying to work things out and be together, only for the cycle to restart.
* PropagandaMachine: Wiktor's troupe, Mazurek, is part of communist Poland's propaganda machine. Besides genuine folk numbers, it also performs propaganda pieces, like one about how great [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Stalin]] is.

** The StateSec agents in Yugoslavia. They do capture Wiktor, but [[spoiler:rather than handling him to Poles, they simply load him into a train heading to France and make it explicitly clear they don't want any harm to him, but no girl is worth the shit he is putting himself into]].
** The consul in Paris. When he's done with protocole, he simply chews Wiktor for his desire to return to Poland, because not only the country isn't the most pleasant place to be, but he's ''at best'' going to end up in prison for decades. [[ShotAtDawn At worst...]]

* SignatureStyle: Just like his previous film, ''Film/{{Ida}}'', Pawlikowski wrote a {{Retraux}} story set during the 50s and 60s in Polish People's Republic about inability to fit in, all filmed in DeliberatelyMonochrome.
* {{Slimeball}}: Kaczmarek couldn't care less about the cultural role of the troupe. He's running the show for political connections, power and comfortable life. If getting those means spying, blackmail or throwing propaganda pieces into the repertoire - so be it.

** The entire propaganda value of Mazurek is to show to the "rotten bourgeoisie world" the true value of folk culture and art. Along with hefty dose of Stalinist propaganda, of course.
** For all her cunning and guts, Zula is just a simple-minded girl from a tiny village, trying to live her life at the fullest. Meanwhile Wiktor is a well-educated artistic soul with such weird issues as personal freedom or melancholic brooding over everything. They both are attracted and in the same time disgusted by the differences between themselves.

** {{Subverted|Trope}} later on in Paris. Wiktor waits for Zula a very long time in a bar, to the point where barmaid tells him outright the girl he's waiting for won't come. The bar is going to close when Zula finally shows up.

* TimeSkip: The story starts in 1947 and then keeps jumping years between scenes, until reaching 1968 in the finale.
* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:Wiktor goes back to Poland. ''Everyone'' knows it's a god-awful idea. He still goes with it and predictably ends up with a sentence of 15 years of hard labour in a quarry]]. If not for Kaczmarek's connections to get him out, he would probably died there.
** [[spoiler:Irena could be either this or simply DrivenToSuicide when he starts to visibly resent the political orders]].

* GoodAdulteryBadAdultery: It is deliberately left to audience to decide if it's good or bad:
** Zula marries. Twice. Each time to be with Wiktor. [[spoiler:And apparently [[{{Cuckold}} Kaczmarek]] is content with this, since all he needs is a son and a TrophyWife, so he lets it all slide as long as he can claim ultimate victory over Wiktor]].
** When she lives in Paris with Wiktor, Zula says that she slept with Michel. Whether this is true or not is ambiguous.

* YourCheatingHeart:
** Zula marries. Twice. Each time to be with Wiktor. [[spoiler:And apparently Kaczmarek is content with this, since all he needs is a son and a TrophyWife, so he lets it all slide as long as he can claim ultimate victory over Wiktor]].
** When she lives in Paris with Wiktor, Zula says that she slept with Michel. Whether this is true or not is ambiguous.

* ColdWar: The story is set in the 50s and 60s, taking place in communist Poland, Yugoslavia and in Paris, where Wiktor settles after [[DefectorFromCommieLand his defection]].

* TheMasochismTango: The toxic, violent and disfunctional relationship between Zula and Wiktor. And while they can't stand each other for prolonged periods of time, they also ''can't live without each other''. [[spoiler:They eventually opt for double suicide]].