Agnes and His Brothers

It's a slick, ambitious movie that doesn't always nail all the many moods and themes it's after. But the actors give it force and depth.

The film's outrageousness would be more palatable if leavened with more wit, or if the characterizations possessed more nuances.

Writer-director Oskar Roehler spends all his energy on cataloging ''outrageous' behavior, and none on giving the transgressions any meaning.

Funny, touching, at times downright bizarre, but never boring.