I watched the three hour long version of this. In his films, the director is attracted with depicting the faults of his characters that they try hard to conceal, and which end up causing them and those around them to suffer. So he comes across as both compassionate and harsh. And yet I am attracted to these depressing tales because he makes me feel that this is the only deal we get to make in life so it's better to get on with it. The acting by the two principals was so moving, making us love and hate them alternately even while we knew almost nothing about them really. They say that when this came out the divorce rate in Europe ticked upwards, which I can almost believe.