If you’re looking for reasons to see ‘Cold War’ I’ll give you a few. One is that it’s said to have received a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. After seeing it, I can believe this. Another is that Rotten Tomatoes has certified it as 93% Fresh. On to my reasons as to why you should make a trek to the theatre to watch this movie. Yes. I said it. There’s no waiting for home viewing with a movie this alluring. Its beauty is sophisticated, profound and slight. It doesn’t scream directly in your face but rather hits you when you revive the entity the film was to you from your memory. The black and white cinematography will look clean and quiet while whispers of genius glide across the screen and entices you to watch this lovely heartbreaking story of love. I promise you that you’ll not be able to look away. It’s a real treasure to observe. Part of why was the 4:3 aspect ratio used that allows the viewer to examine the picture as a piece of photographic art. By shrinking its scale, it’s also possible for the audience to see themselves in the characters or better relate to what they’re going through.

In the story, we have two main characters named Zula and Wiktor. She is a student and he’s her teacher at a school that advocates for Polish folk music and dance. ‘Cold War’ recounts the tale of Zula (Kulig), who’s a gifted singer, and Wiktor (Kot), her teacher and interestingly enough, a songwriter. When they meet, they fall instantly in love. Set in Poland in 1949, the lovers, who dream of being together once and for all, have not only their station in life but communism to worry about. Sadly, for the next fifteen years, this perfect pairing must perform a dance of hiding their relationship from everyone, while at the same time trying not to have the torch they carry for one another extinguished by their circumstances. They secretly meet one another whenever and wherever they can until they can stand it no longer and finally decide to leave and be together once and for all. Best laid plans, right? He leaves for the border where he waits for her to join him. However, afraid of what could happen to them, she doesn’t meet him. Realizing she’s not coming, he decides not to go back and goes on with her. Several years go by and during this time, she struggles deeply. Oh, if only she could find him aga… wait! Look! Here comes Wiktor who can always put a smile on her face. Well, not really. Though they do find one another, it isn’t long before they’re separated again. This storyline is repeated over and over. They’re doomed to a life of searching which is good for their art but terrible for their hearts.

She’s married when they meet once again in Paris. These scenes are the most rewarding. The music, and her performance, in particular, is outstanding. During this period, she’s drunk all the time and they’re both miserable but with so much working against them, how could anyone truly be happy? What’s most provocative about this ‘love story,’ is that when they find themselves together, it never works out. It’s as if they have longed for it so deeply, that’s all they know how to do. Wanting is one thing… having what you reach for is quite another. Who are Wiktor and Zula if not the two seeking one another? The ending, that I’m not revealing to you here, is superb. It couldn’t have been improved upon. All of that said, describing this film does nothing for what it essentially is. It’s magnificent. See it before Oscar season. It’ll most likely be everywhere.  

 *OPENING AT HARKINS CAMELVIEW 

High School sweethearts, Liam (Roe) and Josie (Rothe) are about to get married. We open on Josie and her maid of honor, Kiera (Alexandria), getting her ready for her march down the aisle when through the door comes some devastatingly bad news… her groom isn’t coming. We cut to eight years later and find out why he left sweet and innocent Josie before her brother could walk her to meet Liam at the altar. Fame and fortune came knocking on his door in a big way (think Blade Shelton) and Mr. Liam Page answered it with a fast lurch of enthusiasm and a bit of self-indulgence, not thinking much about who was getting left behind and hurt in the process. He no longer had time for a wife; only for himself. When we see Liam again, he’s on stage singing “Don’t Water Down My Whiskey,” which is not only quite good but Alex Roe does sing it himself for the film. Liam performs for a sell-out stadium crowd and has a team of people taking care of him. Fans scream for him to return to the stage after his last song, but he makes his way to his manager and insists he gets him a particular girl in the front row that he had been eyeballing all night.
I’m thinking this is to get us a bit hot under the collar at his behavior. It doesn’t exactly work because we can tell right away that he’s isn’t like a sailor; isn’t ‘a girl in every port’ kind of guy. The girl he sees reminds him of Josie, for whom he has been unable to forget, though he had definitely left her behind to ache… alone. It’s obvious in some of the following scenes that he has never really tried to rid his memory of her and that outside of casual sex, thinking of her is his only real connection to anyone.

Liam learns that his best friend from High School is killed in a car accident and he takes off for home, leaving behind an already scheduled tour and stunned manager and publicist losing his mind.
Here, the narrative gets a little confusing because he has become incredibly successful, which takes a lot of discipline and when he goes back home, it’s implied or downright said buy his father, Pastor Brian (Hickey) that he had gotten into drugs and was a bit of a mess. That perplexity notwithstanding, it’s a good build up, even though you do see what’s coming. Though the story wants you to be really irritated with his character, you do like him and you hope that while he’s in town to go to his friends funeral, that he’ll run into Josie.
So, he runs into Josie and he tries to apologize for his behavior. He tells her that he knows he had put his wants and desires before hers. He wants her to believe him when he says he realizes that you can, basically, have your cake and eat it, too.

Happy to see she’s had success as well, he goes to the flower shop that she owns, to ask her out. She shows him something else that his selfishness caused him to miss out on when he left. She introduces him to her daughter, Billy (Fortson). She was named after Liam’s mother. Seeing her and hearing her name, he immediately knows what he could never replace and what he missed… the birth of his daughter and being there for her and watching her grow up. Billy is smart, cute and nothing gets by her, much like the actress who played her.
Liam begs to be a part of her life and must now prove he is worthy to be in it. A scene where Billy complains about riding in his convertible is simply priceless. She doesn’t make jumping into fatherhood easy on him but they get used to one another and she warms up to him rather quickly. When he buys her a guitar, they bond over music and suddenly you can just imagine where a sequel could go.

Forever My Girl follows the pattern of formulaic scripts that have come before it. It’s a, ‘boy leaves girl at altar to seek fame and fortune but his roots in the town and in family are buried deep and can’t be pulled out quite so easily’ story. But at its core, it’s loving and it has a good message of forgiveness. It works. It has a slow-motion, playful montage scene to complete the look but it gives us something that many films of the genre do not; a strong leading male character who’s sensitive and willing to admit he’s wrong and give up everything for his true love… loves.