United States of Love: the coldness of Tomasz Wasilewski’s film is very deliberate: from the very still camera in lengthy takes (work of cinematographer Oleg Mutu) to the aesthetic choice of desaturating the colors (to the point that barely a hint remains; they are ony starting to appear, like anything else in the time and place portrayed), all showing desolate, empty environments; the acting of the protagonists is likewise distant, hard to connect to, as are each of their stories. The structure doesn’t help, as the stories are short and not quite connected (even if they have a thematic unity to them), which doesn’t allow for the characters to become fully fleshed-out and for the whole to become engaging.