As bizarre as life itself

CAUTION: SPOILERS!
This movie struck me as bizarre as some things life sometimes hands you.
I found myself rooting for Moritz Bleibtreu's character, even though he had some serious issues. The library scenes were not supposed to be realistic, unless all German students are models. Must have been his sexual urges causing him to perceive them that way. I loved that he got a break, towards the end. Apart from that, his role was very similar to that of Bruno in "Elementarteilchen".
Herbert Knaup played a good *beep* but you can still empathize with his character, having to put up with the trophy wife and spoiled brat, older son. I loved it when he lost it in the hedge trimmer scene (e.g. Chevy Chase in "National Lampoon's Christmas" or, for the Germans: "Jede Menge Kohle - Es kommt der Tag, da will die Säge sägen"), even though it ended in the younger son getting injured.
Agnes seemed to be a little to self-sacrificing, a Madame Butterfly. He/she was still fascinating and very strikingly beautiful. Classy, too. But was she ever angry? Was the perceived childhood by the father abuse Moritz Bleibtreu's character talked about, real? The scene where Agnes visits the father and her brother - who, spying on them, assumes he sees a fellatio that doesn't take place is straight out of "American Beauty".
I noticed that the director also did "Elementarteilchen" which explains the parallels. I am not sure how I like his way of storytelling. I am simultaneously attracted and repulsed...