there are so many shots of joanna kulig in a crowd but you have never have any trouble finding her. every part of this movie is beautiful. i don’t even know what to say besides: it’s perfect

Man falling in love with upcoming singer? Gorgeous black and white cinematography? 4:3 aspect ratio? Yup, it’s a 2018 film!

near flawless on a technical level, but i have the same issue i have with a star is born ... the romance just doesn’t work for me! clearly it works for many others, so maybe i’m missing something, but personally i couldn’t feel the love between these characters. yes, they’re based on writer/director pawel pawlikowski’s own parents, but somehow it still felt like the same rehashed story of the older man and his talented younger muse that i’ve seen a million times. the political backdrop of the cold war, joanna kulig’s powerhouse singing, and the stunning black & white cinematography do freshen up the stale romance, but i keep unintentionally ending every thought i have with the word “but” because i, a hopeless romantic, felt nothing.

Saw it on the big screen at the Golden Apricot Film Festival.
Every shot is masterful. Looking forward to seeing it again.

Interesting seeing the film with an Armenian/Russian crowd. The first song that Joanna Kulig sings in the film is from the famous 1934 Russian film Moscow Laughs. (This is what I was told - not confirmed) This went over well with the audience being that most recognized it.

AFI 2018: film #19 (first seen at CIFF)

“i’ll be with you till the end of the world”

mesmerizing. every second of this is so engrossing to me that this viewing felt only minutes long. i haven’t stopped thinking about it since i saw it in chicago, and tonight it only got better. i almost felt weightless afterwards, in some kind of cinematic trance. joanna kulig gives one of my favorite performances of the year, and the camerawork and lighting and MUSIC and everything else only adds to it. this really feels like the whole package to me now, which surprises me as much as anyone else. it snuck up on me

every other movie sucks now

that ending made me up the score i initially thought i’d give this film, by half a star.

This is probably the tightest and one of the most subtly affecting films ever made and the academy can once again suck my nuts.

Sometimes I question the use of black and white. From the first shot that questioning went right out the window. Brilliant cinematography, beautiful performances, overall great watch.

I just had a good time with this. The Carpenter 90 minute rule really works for it.

"Now I'm yours. For ever and ever."

Beautiful, fleet, tragic.

Wow... a new favorite of mine.
I’m a sucker for these types of stories. But to mix this story with the cinematography it has, and having it in black and white, really put me over the edge with it. So many beautiful songs too. It overall is so beautiful I don’t even know what to say.

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

MAN oh man. One of my favorite’s of all time. Such a beautiful, bleak, authentic portrait of a world so richly put together by Pawel. So perfect. Every detail. Every frame is a perfect photograph. And what a beautiful lovely story. The ending gets me every time. So insane and beautiful but hey, guess that’s what love is.

Love Joanna and Tomasz in this though. Such perfect, authentic performances. Tomasz is so quiet, and has so much going on internally, and Joanna is almost complete opposite. So fierce, so energetic - even when she’s quiet. So electric. Beautiful performances.

Love this movie so much. Thank you Pawel!!!!!!!