Kieslowski figured out late in his career that audiences respond very powerfully to seeing attractive lonely people. As he explained in a letter to his friend Hanna Krall, when beautiful people are lonely, there’s an injustice to it that makes the suffering seem even more acute.

Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow deserve happiness. They are not only attractive people, they are well mannered, thoughtful and loyal. They fall into a shared ritual, gliding down narrow dark staircases to a local noodle shop to buy a dinner for one, both of their spouses choosing to spend their time with someone else.

It begins with seeing Mrs. Chan sway in her beautiful long dress and wait alone in the steam-filled takeout joint. As she reaches the top of the stairs, she turns to the right and then we see Mr. Chow descend the same path.

Martin Scorsese directed a scene in “Taxi Driver” where Travis tries desperately to win back Betsy’s affections over a payphone call. A few seconds into the call, the camera panned away from Travis and looked down an empty hallway — as if too embarrassed to watch Travis humiliate himself.

Wong does something similar here. Instead of following Mr. Chow down the same stairwell, it pans to the right, letting the audience in on the routine. It then repeats part of Mrs. Chan’s ritual, but this time has her see Mr. Chow on her way up the stairs, underscoring that this was not a one-time event for either of them.

Just to rub in the humiliation, Mrs. Chan is next back in the office, making a phone call to her boss’s girlfriend to explain that he must break a date that night. She then informs him that his wife is expecting him home soon to cut the birthday cake, her birthday. Mrs. Chan has also bought a birthday gift for her, a scarf.

Mr. Chow’s humiliation is even worse. His ugly colleague barges in asking to loan money. He then tells a tale about losing a horse racing bet, then going to a whorehouse and putting his fee on credit. He had to leave his I.D. with the manager, however, and he saw him waving it around to someone they knew.

But after Mr. Chow lends him the money, the ugly colleague then convinces him to get snacks for them both. While eating dumplings, the colleague spills tea about Mr. Chow’s wife — he says that he saw her the previous day on the street with another man. Mr. Chow has to save face by saying it was probably just a friend.

Neither Mrs. Chan or Mr. Chow are oblivious to what is happening in their marriages, but they have no choice but to deny what they clearly perceive. The fact that it is obvious to others — and this kind of ritualized cheating is happening everywhere — only makes it more painful.