The Rules of the Game

This is on every great films list. I finally got to see it. There is great cinematography, cameras peering down hallways, people in constant motion as in an anthill. All the sordid relationships are brought to the screen. What I needed to know was whether this is really parody. The people are awful. They have no respect for their marriages and their trysts are happening all over the place. Servants are groping servants. Rich are groping rich. The gamekeeper, who looks a little like John Cleese is allowed to run through the house during a party, firing shots randomly, hoping to hit the man who is pursuing his wife. Is the ennui the whole point. Are they the rabbits that are hunted with their sexual appetite? I just see boredom and lack of commitment and its hard to separate this primitive morality from their silly, pointless lives. It also seems they have their own laws which they can make or break at will. Perhaps if I become more wise to what Renoir was trying to do, I will enjoy this more the next time I see it.