Thirtysomething, West German style, this low-key satire on troubled relations between the sexes is intended by director Rudolf Thome as the first part of a trilogy on "the forms of love." In The Microscope, love takes the form of trying very hard to make it work, "it" being the whole strudel-marriage, children-for two career-immersed lovers. Franz, a dry computer programmer, and Maria, purveyor of lush hot-house plants, have split up over the issue of a baby-she wants, he doesn't. Meanwhile, in the home of their friend Johanna, the formula seems to add up to perfect, too perfect, bliss. After the bust-up, Franz the Rational turns his attention to his aquarium, becoming obsessively preoccupied with marine procreation, and later, with the microscopic universe of tiny beings. As he begins to regress, Bringing Up Franzie becomes the joint project of all the women in his life.