This is the best Balzac adaptation I've seen so far.
The direction is not perfect: the action is occasionally too slow or too fast, there are minor storytelling and camerawork issues, but the overall picture holds well together.
The production design is fascinating, as well as most actors, especially the 3 main characters.
A great soundtrack by one of the greatest Nouvelle Vague composers.
And most importantly, it is true to the plot, atmosphere and style of Balzac.
There is a fairly lousy trend to "modernise" or "reimagine" classical novels onscreen, think 3 Musketeers with Raquel Welch: an ultimate piece of crap. None of Dumas there!
For TV series lovers / haters: this is not a series!
It is a long feature film serialised for ease of watching, like J. Rivette's masterful Out 1 (incidentally, also inspired by Balzac, alongside his other masterpieces, such as La Belle Noiseuse or La Duchess de Langeais)
Enjoy! 9 hours of pure pleasure, artful drama and aesthetic enjoyment
