The meaning and pleasure of life exist in daily life. Obviously, everything in life is also subject to the times, and the fate of an individual is always clenched by those ruthless and invisible hands. "Sister Ida", which won the Oscar for best foreign language film for Paviu Pawlikowski, this "Cold War" (2018) shot by him, in my opinion, is not inferior to the former, In other words, it confirms each other's two unbearable histories in the context of the great era. At the beginning of the film, the quiet and condensed black and white images and the poignant and long Polish folk songs immediately attracted me.
At the end of the film, the director specially typed the words "Dedicated to my parents", and the names of the male and female protagonists in the film are exactly the names of his parents. Presumably the experience of the director's parents leaving Poland to live in the UK, the situation of following each other and punishing each other, is more or less projected into the film. His parents lived together for 40 years and died in 1989.
Whether it is a cold war, a hot war, or an autocratic Iron Curtain, the impact on individuals is immeasurable, even destructive, and will affect generations. It is also often said that where you are reincarnated determines your life. The good part at least avoids the constraints of identity development. In the bad part, no matter how hard you work, it is useless. There is no platform for you to dance, and you can dance again. useless.
The two parts before and after "Cold War" elaborately explain the two men and women who were originally in love. Against such a large background, their love was undulating, but when they got together after all kinds of hardships, due to the differences in habits, life and culture, the two fell apart. People suddenly started a beacon, and then separated again. It is difficult for them to live freely and dignifiedly under dictatorship, and it is difficult for them to live like a duck in water in a completely different culture. It seems that both people have no dignity, but one has bread and no freedom, and the other seems to have bread and freedom, but Trapped in the worry about the motherland and the lover. Fortunately, they fell in love with the best results in the end, but no one in the background of the Cold War knows what the road ahead will be. This is a life of suffering in the context of a great era.
Victor, a musician played by Thomas Cotter, and Belecka, a female musician, went to the remote villages of Poland in 1949 to select girls who could sing and dance. This is very similar to China before the "Cultural Revolution". Excavated seedlings. Joanna Kurig's Zura, a country girl, smart with ice and snow, the most emotional performer of Mazurka dance, and a gentle, energetic and clean girl in their eyes, but such a girl actually killed her father , served two years in prison. Victor asked her why, and she said lightly that my dad regarded me as a mother, so I moved the knife, rest assured, he didn't die. It was obvious that he loved her very much.
The folk songs sung by the girls in the film are clear, pure and beautiful, coupled with the passionate mazurka dance, which is beautiful and intoxicating. "We are not destined to be together", it seems that this sad song heralds the fate of their love. In 1951, Warsaw, two years later, after training at the Conservatory of Music, Zula and the girls had a qualitative leap in their singing and dancing, and their performance won unanimous applause. "The black eyes you cry for will never meet again, their hearts are as solid as a rock." Such songs also force ideological leaders to advocate for a new political voice to be added to the traditional mazurka dance . As a result, the girls sang the "Modern Peking Opera" version of the carol, "Stalin the Wise, lead us forward", and a huge portrait of Stalin appeared in the background of the stage.
Facing the dull tone and the overwhelming wave of applause from the audience, female musician Belecka was furious, but unable to express her attitude, she slowly disappeared from the film. Only the helpless Viktor endured it step by step. At this time, he secretly talked about a disparate love with the girl Zula. One was a cold intellectual and the other was a country girl with no culture. However, Zula's wildness and enthusiasm activated his frustration.
When the girl says I'll follow you forever till the end of the world, but I'm covering you, I go to him every week to report your situation, but I never betray you. It turned out that the head of the song and dance troupe, Kazhimakra, ordered her to report Victor's situation to him regularly. Victor was surprised, he was angry. He ran away from her, and she got angry, calling you rude petty bourgeoisie at him. Eavesdropping and whistleblowing, this is an old autocratic trick, not new, but it stings him.
In 1952, the ensemble went to Berlin to participate in the celebrations of the October Revolution, which was a perfect opportunity. The head of the regiment warned the regiment members that Berlin, which was divided between East and West Germany, was the front line of the enemy's camp and needed to maintain revolutionary vigilance. On the train, they hugged each other tightly and loved each other like a fiery passion. He said you are unique and I can't live without you. Victor meets her and escapes through the border after the show. At the singing party, they sang "Katyusha", which the Soviets liked. Zura, who was extremely anxious, was stumped by the head of the regiment. This guy was like a fly that kept following her, giving her no chance to run away. In the end, Victor, who was waiting for nothing, had to run over alone.
In 1954, Zura accompanied the group to Paris, at which time Victor had been living in Paris for two years and continued to work in music. As an exile, he missed Zura and longed for Zura. They met. She asked him if he had a lover, yes, she said I have one too. They were still in love, more than ever, but she still had to leave, she couldn't just run away like he did. When he asked why you didn't run with me that day. She said that everything about me is not as good as yours, I only know that I will not leave you. The Cold War between the two camps affected the happiness of millions of individuals, but this was different from Lubitsch's prophetic comedy, Ninocheka (1939). Obviously, "Cold War" is much harsher, and under the icy tyranny, it seems that there is no bright possibility.
It was self-evident which ruthless rod broke up the pair of mandarin ducks in love. On one side is the rule under the Iron Curtain, which is as solid as a rock, and on the other side is the free world of flowers and flowers that fend for itself. When Victor returned to the house, Juliet, the poetess who lived with you, asked who did you meet and went to find a prostitute? He said I couldn't find a prostitute and I went to meet the most important woman in my life. Juliet, a modern woman, of course understands him and doesn't care about that. In 1955, in Yugoslavia, he made a special trip to Zagreb to watch Zula's ensemble performance, but he was forcibly taken away by secret agents and sent back to Paris on the train.
It was not until 1957, when Zura came to Paris, that the lovers reunited again. According to her words, she did not flee, but legally married an Italian man in Palermo. He said I have been waiting for you. She said luckily you are not married yet. But she was jealous of Juliet, the poetess he lived with, especially when she had to sing the lyrics she wrote, what shit lyrics she said. "Who among us can keep the moment of love". The inability of the two cultures to work together effectively made Zura extremely distressed. She couldn't adapt to everything in Paris. She became increasingly agitated. She's never been able to get into the groove of composing songs for director Michelle's films. Her Mazurka singing skills cannot be integrated into Western culture.
At this time, both of them became a little nervous and impatient, and being too hasty is a common problem of love mania. He thought she was getting along with Michelle. She also hit back with the words "Michelle fucks me six times a night" and provoked, he slapped her. She disappeared. This time, she ran back to Poland. In 1959, he took the risk of being sentenced and took the train to Poland, where he was caught and sentenced to 15 years. She said I will always wait for you. He said no, you have to find someone you like. She firmly said that the person has not been born yet, and I will find a way to help you out. Zula found a minister and let him be released, and the pair of hard-working mandarin ducks were finally able to reunite. She excitedly said to take me out of here forever.
Only those who have experienced separation and suffered from the pain of longing and love can appreciate the continuous and swirling emotion between them. That kind of going from secret to public, that kind of insurmountable barrier like thousands of mountains and rivers, once it becomes possible, how can they easily give up each other. Great love, honed in a cruel era, will eventually lead to a better time, as long as they have enough patience and perseverance for love. At the end of the film, Zura Italia's husband is having a heart-to-heart with Victor with his son in his arms. After the performance, she rushes right in. It is not her husband or her son, but Victor.
In the end, they walked through the isolated and tall tree, came to the empty and dilapidated church hand in hand, and swore their wedding ceremony in a religious way. At this time, there is only the clear, ethereal and pleasant singing, floating forever.
2019.1.5
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