"Roman and Magda" can be the illustration of the following rule of thumb: nothing can go wrong if you take a talented writer (Ireneusz Iredynski), a skilled and experienced film director (Sylwester Checinski) and a couple of good and popular actors (like Andrzej Seweryn). Ireneusz Iredynski was a very pictureque personality and an "Enfant terrible" of Polish literature. He didn't have a high education, served a prison sentence, and was addicted to alcohol. But he was very talented and had this uncanny grasp of what is universal in human behavior, which resulted in his books being translated into other languages. Even I have a German edition of his collected works that I bought in Berlin. Sylwester Checinski was a skilled and popular film director who managed to produce good and free of any propaganda movies. It is sometimes overlooked that he achieved something unthinkable in communist countries-in his film "Kochaj albo rzuc" he depicted America as a dynamic country of opportunities, where the new multi ratial society is shaping the history of the modern world. And finally we have Andrzej Severyn, an actor with a distinguished career in Poland, and then, after the imposition of martial law in 1981, also in France. "Roman and Magda" is a film about a marital crisis of the young couple, with some elements of psychological thriller. The marriage is shown from the perspective of the husband (Roman) and then his wife (Magda), which makes it quite interesting. The story may look a bit far fetched, but the thoughtful acting of Andrzej Seweryn renders it a lot of credibility. Roman is an opportunist who lives withdrawn in his own shell, paying no attention to his wife and his colleagues at work. The background of late 1970s Poland is also well painted. So we can say that all film creators did a terrific job, and the audience didn't spend their money in vain and was presented with high quality entertainment. Today we may have the additional privilege of having a glimpse into the past of the country.
