Most of the reviews seem to consider this movie as a comedy. had it been called RomCom, probably it would have been somewhat OK (married couple can have their romance, without looking outwards) .
While watching it, i found there is a very thin line between comedy and satire, and when I follow the line, it is a satire, not a comedy. The satires usually as too biting, and thereby heavy on the senses. But in this case, the director has skillfully garbed the satire, and the movie is as lighthearted as a comedy, but still it isn't one. And of course, a happy ending is one that I usually prefer, and by that count, this is one of the few (the total count itself is few) of Becker movies, which I would vote for. That is without the technical superiority (movies like Falbalas, Casque d'Or etc were far better character study, but too intense for me).
The story, as mentioned, isn't much, almost non existent. It is the characters that fill the plot, give it the body.
We have a very young couple, poor but talented husband, and the loving but suffering wife, almost like 'Versprich Mir Nichts', though here the wife doesn't take things literally in her hands, and also unlike the Versprich Mir Nichts, there is physical confrontation (usually thorough missiles, sometimes aimed at each other, most of the time at ground), but there is no missing, that along with this fire, the other fire too burns equally bright.
The matter is made more complex through the difference in the strata they belonged to. The wife was from the crème de la crème whereas the husband was bohemian from bourgeois family. Naturally both the sides had declared that the union was doomed to fail.
The different characters that encompass, are the vain and almost narcissist wife's cousin, who still covets her, and is encouraged by the thought of the predicted failure of the marriage, and would work to bring expedited demise. The cousin's father naturally would encourage it, though not too actively, and then his circle of the peacocks. Of these there were was at least one, who had a strong head on his shoulders, probably a natural justice, since his wife was the other end of the spectrum. All other fell between these two. This is the mix of the characters, what made the movie an enjoyable one, and also as it moved quite lightly in the difficult terrain.
