If it weren't for the weak story, the bad acting, the awful over-dubbing,the pathetic direction, and a myriad other flaws, this could rise as high as to be unwatchable. As it is, I could barely stand to watch it - it works as well as melatonin, except that you wake up with a headache and a deep guilt for having wasted a couple of hours of an all too short life.Balzac: A Passionate Life