A Woman's Decision

1975 Polish film

A Woman's Decision

Directed by	Krzysztof Zanussi
Written by	Krzysztof Zanussi
Starring	Maja Komorowska
Cinematography	Slawomir Idziak
Edited by	Urszula Sliwinska
Music by	Wojciech Kilar
Distributed by	Tinc Productions (USA)
Release dates	Germany: July 1975 (Berlin International Film Festival) United States: September 7, 1977
Running time	98 minutes
Country	Poland
Language	Polish

A Woman's Decision (Polish: Bilans kwartalny, also known as The Quarterly Balance) is a 1975 Polish drama film written and directed by Krzysztof Zanussi.

It is a movie about a woman stuck in an unhappy marriage, with neglectful husband who is distant and unable to make her happy. So she spends her life in limbo of waiting for happiness that is not coming. Eventually after many years of neglect, she feels in herself a need to change her life for the better. Soon she meets someone else, a new guy who can make her feel happy and loved,as she deserves. And then she needs to make a choice - will she stay with her husband out of sense of duty and because she is tired to try to love again someone new, or will she leave her unhappy marriage once for all. And she makes a wrong one - by choosing to stay. In melanholic, unhappy marriage, for the sake of duty.

So this movie is a psychological analysis of female character who wastes her life in waiting. For happiness in marriage that can not give her that. Instead of grabbing her happiness with someone new, who could really make her happy. As said above the movie is Polish.

The music in the movie is done by Wojciech Kilar, Polish film music composer, who is most famous for composing soundtrack for the movie Bram Stoker's Dracula.

It was entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the OCIC Award.^[1]

Cast

Maja Komorowska as Marta
Piotr Fronczewski as Jan
Marek Piwowski as Jacek
Zofia Mrozowska as Jan's Mother
Halina Mikolajska as Roza
Mariusz Dmochowski as Director
Barbara Wrzesinska as Ewa
Chip Taylor as James
Eugenia Herman as Zofia
Elzbieta Karkoszka as Maria
Celina Mencner as Halina
Krzysztof Machowski as Rower
Malgorzata Pritulak as Anna
Danuta Rinn as Marta's Colleague
Kazimiera Utrata as Marta's Colleague
Stefan Szmidt as Rescuer
Dariusz Adamczuk
Marian Friedmann
Józef Fryzlewicz as Assistant Manager
Antonina Girycz as Marta's Colleague
Zbigniew Jankowski
Krystyna Kolodziejczyk as Secretary
Marcin Mroszczak
Leszek Mystkowski
Irena Oberska
Joanna Poraska
William Powers as Jacek's Colleague
Alina Rostkowska
Jan Sieradzinski
Tadeusz Somogi as Manager
Andrzej Szenajch as Jacek's Colleague
Józef Wieczorek

Critical reception

Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars, and wrote "Here's a film that has so much to say about one particular woman, and says it so eloquently, that nobody since Bergman has seen a woman character more clearly. The film is "A Woman's Decision," by Krzysztof Zanussi, who was already Poland's best director and now graduates to grandmaster class."^[2]

References

^ "Berlin International Film Festival". IMDb. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
^ Ebert, Roger (January 1, 1977). "A Woman's Decision / The Balance". Chicago Sun-Times.