Sunday 8 May 2022

Zimna wojna

a film by Paweł Pawlikowski
Сколько слов и надежд, сколько песен и тем
Горы будят у нас и зовут нас остаться.
Но спускаемся мы — кто на год, кто совсем,
Потому что всегда, потому что всегда мы должны возвращаться.
Владимир Высоцкий, «Прощание с горами»

“We must always return”, sang Vysotsky. The word должен, however, literally means “indebted”. To whom do we owe our return? To our friends and lovers, certainly; to our family, maybe. But to our fatherland? No, thank you.

The last time I’ve been to my native country was in 1996. A former colleague of mine asked, “Tell me, what are you doing here? We have to come here to die.” But I digress before even starting. Where were we? Ah, yes.

Yesterday, La 2 treated us to Cold War. Starring Joanna Kulig as Zula and Tomasz Kot as Wiktor, this story of impossible love is as beautiful as it is poignant. The movie’s leitmotif, Dwa serduszka, cztery oczy, evolves from a folk song, strikingly performed by an unnamed dark-eyed girl, to a sleek cool jazz ballad. The finale could be a nod to Wajda’s Chronicle of Amorous Accidents as well as to a scene from Tarkovsky’s Mirror. A modern classic.

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