Set in Poland, 1990, the first euphoric year of freedom, but also of uncertainty for the future, the movie centers on four women living in Poland as the Soviet empire falls who are oppressed by joyless sex and yearning.
Designed on one level to conjure the effects of a repressive society on women with few choices available, "Love" feels frigid even though Wasilewski likely wants to extend sympathy to their situations.
If you wanted a film to remind you nobody had it better than we do - and I could well understand why you might right now - than United States of Love provides a bracing vodka-expresso jolt.
The talented young writer-director Tomasz Wasilewski has an eye for eloquent framing and touches of absurdity, both of which evoke the work of Austrian film-maker Ulrich Seidl.
Wasilewski shoots the film in a similar method to directors like Kieslowski, Michael Haneke or Asghar Farhadi -- observing his central player's lives from an unobstrusive cold distance to allow the viewer to form their own interpretation on events.
It's beautifully shot by Oleg Mutu but a little too self-consciously directed on occasion with too many of the gorgeous, nearly still life shots and too many back of head shots but its aim is mostly true and the emotions linger.
Even if the message is a little muddy, United States of Love is plainly the confident work of a fast-maturing young filmmaker with a strong voice and a sharp visual sense.
