Longing is a deceptive film.  On the surface, it looks very simple and straightforward.  However, there is a lot going on beneath the surface.  Director, Valeska Grisebach) has said that she interviewed around 200 people in the street to ask what they imagined their future would be like.

And she ends the film with children playing a game and chatting in a park about the story we have just seen.  They speculate on what the characters were like, why they did what they did.  It jolts us into finally making an assessment of how we responded to the characters and their situations.

A voluntary fireman comes across a car crash where a husband has driven his vehicle into a tree killing himself and injuring his wife.  The man helps but cannot save the woman.  He reflects on suicide and what could have influenced this fatal choice.

He is happily married but, when he goes on a weekend training with fellow firemen, he becomes involved with a woman working in the hotel.  This is a surprise for the audience.  He did not seem like that kind of man.  So, what were his longings? And those of his wife whom he loves? And those of the woman he also loves?  And how to deal with this?

The solution takes us off guard as the director distracts us and we realise what has happened.  This and the final conversation of the children mean that we leave the cinema puzzled but very thoughtful.

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