Film: Cold War love story
Rising star Joanna Kulig talks about her leading role in film based on the lives of director’s parents
ACTRESS Joanna Kulig says: “Anyone can fall in love.” Old people, young people, rich people, poor people. And people who lived in Communist Poland. “But for love to grow and survive we must be mature.”
The Polish stage and film star is talking about new movie Cold War, in which her character Zula falls madly in love with a musician in 1940s post-war Poland. The film is likely to make Kulig’s name, with critics praising her outstanding performance.
Pawel Pawlikowski won this year’s Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival for his enthralling movie based on the love story of his parents, from betrothal to breakdown. The new wave cinematography perfectly captures Poland of the past, and it provides an insight into Poland’s history and the world of Kulig’s grandparents.
“It’s a sentimental treat because our grandparents experienced the Cold War which makes it incredibly powerful,” says Kulig, who is 36 and grew up in a world after the fall of Communism. Watching the film, she says, “you can feel the love and emotion – there’s always five minutes of silence afterward”.
We are speaking on the phone ahead of the film’s UK release. The line isn’t clear and an interpreter is needed, however, Kulig’s voice is filled with passion about this new movie and her role alongside co-star Tomasz Kot. At one point, she asks to Facetime and discuss it.
Kulig emerges from the film as a real screen presence, though she has more of a stage background. “My experience with the National Theatre in Kraców often involved many changes of storyline and character. This was particularly useful when working with a director such as Pawel Pawlikowski who is quite intuitive and demands flexibility in an actor.
“The major difference is, of course, the camera/stage technique. Although Zula was, at times, a larger-than-life character, the camera lens sees everything and it was important to act with some subtlety.” On stage, she says, “subtlety is not so common”.
Cold War required Kulig to dance – she found herself as the main performer in high energy Mazurek dance scenes – and she admits that meant extensive preparation and research to live up to Pawlikowski’s high expectations.
“The role of Zula was physically demanding, in particular, the dance scenes.
“I trained with the Mazurek Dance Ensemble [the real-life and inspiration for the Mazurek Dance Ensemble in the film] for six months.
“We covered dancing with a partner, ballet-style dancing, and group dancing with the full ensemble in costume.”
The audience’s first impression of Zula is that she is a young, seemingly innocent girl auditioning for a part in a folk troupe where she meets Wiktor (Kot) the composer for the troupe.
Her vibrant presence and lively personality leave a lasting impression on the older man – there’s something mysteriously captivating about the young girl. He develops a soft spot for her and decides to cast her in the show. The pair become tangled in a passionate love affair and he makes her the lead performer.
“Wiktor is older and I think that Zula was not certain that he was right for her because she was like a child. I think he was good for her because he’s the composer of the group and he wanted to help her.”
The troupe travel to East Berlin, where Zula is now centre stage at a prestigious event with government officials, where the troupe is forced to sing a hymn to Stalin and promote agricultural reform. The pressure is on, while her and Wiktor’s feelings for each other grow stronger.
Wiktor gives Zula the opportunity to run away with him but fear prevents her from pursuing their escapade to freedom and they part. Wiktor finds work elsewhere, but Zula is always on his mind.
Kulig says: “The Mazurek Ensemble is everything to Zula, including family and friends. She was alone before she became a part of it.”
Zula develops from being a young teenager auditioning for the troupe to a glamorous superstar performing in Paris. Though she has many opportunities to reignite her and Wiktor’s flame, her troubled past follows her into the future.
“I found the development in Zula’s personality from a wild child to a cynical woman going off the rails tough at times. Zula is very talented but she destroys herself, and only near the end does she start to regret it.
“Zula was a young mind in a woman’s body and realised too late that the love she had with Wiktor was the real thing – she did not know her own self-worth and that Wiktor’s love was genuine.”
However, her love for Wiktor has no bounds, no matter how far Zula travels, whom she decides to marry or where she lives in the world.
Wiktor never forgets her; he simply can’t and neither can she. Their love is toxic and complicated yet binds them for eternity. They are finally reunited, but their destructible love results in unfathomable tragedy.
Following the release of the movie, Kulig’s next plans are to continue developing her musical career by building on her professional musical relationship with Marcin Masecki, the composer, and arranger of the Cold War soundtrack.
“We will record an album of the
Cold War music after the summer. And there is a real possibility of future collaborations with Marcin inspired by Zula and Wiktor’s deep love.
“For me, Marcin is a special artist with great versatility and working with him is very exciting and a great pleasure.”
Zula was a young mind in a woman’s body and realised too late that the love she had with Wiktor was the real thing
Cold War is in cinemas from today. Read Alison Rowat’s verdict tomorrow