Love is Colder than a Nap

So I've been enjoying a lot of early German silent film. I've seen Murnau's The Last Laugh and Fritz Lang's M recently. I was tickled pink over these flicks. They're quite lovely, they have some absolutely beautiful photography. Having seen a zillion sportscenturies on espn, I'd grown accustomed to faux-sepia footage of baseballers and the like. Normal, uninteresting footage made to look timeless or old or something by blowing out the whites and making it look like classic footage. It's quite nice to see some good photography done in the style properly.

Then I just rented a coupla Fassbinder films, The Bitter Tears of Petra van Kant and Love is Colder than Death. I don't get it. Lots of sadness, betrayal, and such, and really interesting shot composition. In Bitter, the actors are in a set with one wall taken up by a gigantic painting, the other side of the room featuring mannequins, and the people are generally framed by these two backgrounds. I like all the shots and such, but I just don't get it. The films put me to sleep. I don't care for the characters, and I just don't understand them. They're uninteresting to me. The soundtracks are generally very good, the shots are great, but they both put me to sleep. Don't get it.