Musical Mondays Week 65 Cold War

[Cameron H. 23786]

Now that's what I call Mutually Assured Destruction...

We watched:

[Cameron H. 23786]

Just to kick things off here, I thought Cold War  was absolutely beautiful. Visually, it was a stunner. Unfortunately, I couldn't really connect with the characters. I didn't really care if they ended up together or not. Neither Wiktor nor Zula made much of an impression on me one way or the other. 

Still, it was absolutely gorgeous to look at.

[grudlian. 4725]

1 hour ago, Cameron H. said:

Just to kick things off here, I thought Cold War  was absolutely beautiful. Visually, it was a stunner. Unfortunately, I couldn't really connect with the characters. I didn't really care if they ended up together or not. Neither Wiktor nor Zula made much of an impression on me one way or the other. 

Still, it was absolutely gorgeous to look at.

I had a similar feeling. I didn't particularly care if they got together. I liked the female character but remember not caring much for the guy (I haven't seen this since theatres so my thoughts are pretty weak).

[tomspanks 9039]

Yeah, same here.  Thought the b&w was beautiful, but the romance/love story left me...cold.  Oy yoi yoi.

[Cameron H. 23786]

I think the metaphor of a “Cold War” was pretty well done, but nothing about the characters drew me in to the point where it transcended to a narrative level. It felt like metaphor without context (if that makes sense). I never really understood their codependency beyond “it’s there because I said so.”

[Cameron H. 23786]

I feel like I saw quite of few high-rated reviews on Letterboxd for Cold War. I’m kind of wondering what they got out of it that maybe I didn’t.

[grudlian. 4725]

I liked it quite a bit at the time but it also didn't leave much of an impression on me. I liked each scene as it was happening but I don't know that it added up to anything.

[tomspanks 9039]

DAE think the main actor looked like Russell from True Blood?

(Sorry for the shitpost lol)

[WatchOutForSnakes 807]

I'm kind of sad this didn't garner more discussion. I loved Cold War, though I will agree that it is light on plot. It felt more of a tone poem than an epic love story. But I found the leads completely captivating, and Zula's jazz solo stuck in my head for weeks. I don't really have much of a defense for what's been said or why it failed to land. I guess I like it despite it's shortcomings. 

Also, RIP Calamity Jane

 

[Cam Bert 8145]

I wish to apologize to Max and for not participating. I just was not able to find this movie and that turns out Japan does not get it until next month. 

[tomspanks 9039]

44 minutes ago, Cam Bert said:

I wish to apologize to Max and for not participating. I just was not able to find this movie and that turns out Japan does not get it until next month. 

You’ll just have to share your thoughts in a month.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

I also apologize for not participating. I haven't even watched a movie since April I am really slacking here.

[EvRobert 1684]

I auditioned for a show and was trying to finish up a play that I am wanting to submit to my favorite playwriting/theater conference so everything got put on hold for me for a week

[AlmostAGhost 2718]

I honestly started watching it, but just wasn't in the mood so I stopped after 10 minutes. Then I never went back to it. Not real sure if it was the movie, or me.

[tomspanks 9039]

3 hours ago, AlmostAGhost said:

I honestly started watching it, but just wasn't in the mood so I stopped after 10 minutes. Then I never went back to it. Not real sure if it was the movie, or me.

I don’t think it was just you. It took me a few sessions over several days to finish it. 

[Quasar Sniffer 4174]

Sorry for the late reply here, but this is in response to the comments about not being able to relate to Zula and Wiktor and individuals; more like they were ciphers or ideas of people. I dunno, I found them instantly compelling and I connected with them very deeply. Maybe I'm just sort of attracted to that archetype of a Doomed Romance, one you recognize straight from the beginning. They burn so bright and so hot, they are destined to run out of fire. But the fact they keep orbiting each other, keep coming back to each other, is something I find fascinating as well.

Also, I tend to take certain historical periods pretty personally, I guess. For me, the Cold War itself is one of those (not the only one, but it's the one we are talking about here). Obviously, I did not participate in anything resembling the events of the film, but my predilections for taking history personally might be why I am so easily absorbed into, say, Bond films or stories of being trapped behind the Iron Curtain. Anyway, my dad was a P-3 Orion pilot for much of the 80s and 90s, so it was the later stages of the Cold War, but the operational mission of the Orion was to find Russian subs. Sure, the plane did other reconnaissance and whatnot, but it was designed to hunt (and maybe blow up) submarines. Soooo... when I would watch Top Gun, for example, those faceless Russian pilots were the dudes who might literally KILL MY DAD, so I found myself rather invested in Cold War narratives from the age of, you know, 5. I realize this movie has NOTHING to do with any of that, but the inclusion of other things I am fascinated by, like the bridging of musical cultures, folk music (the centuries-old kind), Eastern European art, political propaganda, etc. create a heat seeking missile straight to my soul. This movie gets at me. 

[tomspanks 9039]

1 hour ago, Quasar Sniffer said:

Soooo... when I would watch Top Gun, for example, those faceless Russian pilots were the dudes who might literally KILL MY DAD, so I found myself rather invested in Cold War narratives from the age of, you know, 5. 

Oh, so you’re not in it for the shirtless volleyball. Just me then?

[Quasar Sniffer 4174]

4 minutes ago, tomspanks said:

Oh, so you’re not in it for the shirtless volleyball. Just me then?

Oh, make no mistake, I am THERE for shirtless volleyball. All day every day. It's the blatant, yet somehow unspoken, homoeroticism that makes the mortal terror so potent!