Longing

Valeska Grisebach's film is set in a small village in Brandenburg. A metalworker and volunteer fireman is married to his childhood sweetheart and content with his life. Meeting a waitress from a neighbouring town sets something moving in him that he did not expect, and he ends up between two lives without quite understanding what he is doing. Grisebach works with non-professional actors and an almost documentary attention: there are no big scenes, decisions are never announced, and most of what happens stays on the faces. The title says as much, since this is not really a choice but a longing that never gets named. The ending is deliberately left open, and it is left unspoiled here.