Cold War: Pawel Pawlikowski boils down this love story down to its bare essentials; that makes it both less melodramatic and more potent. It also carries a scathing view of the internal politics of the time and place, without making it the most relevant element of the film. Aesthetically, the film follows the same idea: shot by director of photography Lukasz Zal in glorious, stunning black-and-white, displaying both very expressive framing and lush, memorable lighting. Joanna Kulig and Tomasz Kot form a beautiful, credible couple; she has beautiful face and a mischievous smile, capable of bliss but with a natural underlying sadness (which is very appropriate for the story), in a very appealing performance; he also cuts a nice figure, and while not as interesting as she is, he still projects the same. Editor Jaroslaw Kaminski made this a tight, well-paced film.