We should be used to irony in the titles of Polish films by now, but the device is pushed to the limit in United States of Love.
The only word of the three to bear its original meaning here is ‘State’ – Poland, in 1990, and that is on the verge of major change.
The three couples focused on in this bitter but compelling drama are far from united and desperate for love – none more so than Iza, who becomes the focus of the final part of the film.
A successful professional – she is the principal of the local school which has just been renamed (sign of the times) ‘Solidarity’ – she is very much the passive partner in the affair she is having with a local doctor. What saves the film from miserabilism is its calm observation of these moments of loneliness and a powerhouse central performance by Magdalena Cielecka as Iza.
Showing: Vue West End 5, 12:30
For more information, visit bfi.org.uk/lff
BFI London: Must-see movies
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