Movies
Pawlikowski's little arthouse romance. Cold War is a film with quite a bit of potential, though not everything meshes together well enough. Some of Pawlikowski's choices are a bit simple and mundane, which doesn't quite correspond with the grave and solemn atmosphere he chases. The stark black and white cinematography is nice and the camera work surprisingly modern, the 4:3 ratio is a big disappointment though, and the folk music is an acquired taste (read: it was pretty grating). The structure of the film is interesting, but the short runtime makes it tough to care for the two. A shorter intro, a better soundtrack and a tighter focus on their relationship might have done wonders, but it's definitely worth a try.Read all
A film about a nun who visits her aunt and struggles with her faith/way of life, set in 60s Poland. I'm unsure why anyone would care to tackle this topic in the 2010s, but here we are. The film is shot in stark black-and-white and sports an old-fashioned 4:3 aspect ratio, so of course cinephiles love this one. The cinematography is nice, but nothing too out of the ordinary. The performances are limited, the score is distracting and the plot is plain dull. Some nice shots pulled me through the film and at least the runtime is short, but this is the kind of arthouse cinema that belongs in the 60s. It all felt terribly outdated to me.Read all