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Alex Morgan

•

5 min ago

★★★★★4/5

Just finished watching this. Visuals were stunning but the pacing felt a bit off in the second half. Still worth a watch!

Daniel Cooper

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2 days ago

★★★★★2/5

I don't get the hype. The plot was predictable and the characters felt flat. It seems like style over substance to me. Maybe I missed something, but I was bored throughout.

+142

Priya Sharma

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15 days ago

★★★★★5/5

An absolute masterpiece. The director managed to weave complex themes into a compelling narrative without it feeling forced. The cinematography is some of the best I've seen in years. Truly a cinematic experience that stays with you.

Overview

The Longing (2002) is rated ⭐ 5.75/10.
It is set in a dreary village in the Schwabian-Frankish Forest where the seemingly reserved Lena lives with her tyrant of a husband, Johannes, in a loveless marriage. Johannes is the village's spiritual leader and Lena is his faithful, ever-ready-to-serve wife. Lena's daily life is characterized by grinding monotony, a life narrowly circumscribed by nursing, organ playing and the duties of the marriage bed. The mysterious murder of a village girl suddenly knocks this humdrum existence off its tracks. In the wake of these events Lena discovers the affection and tenderness for which she has always longed in Paul, the village mechanic. This encounter is the start of an emancipation that leads her not to reveal Paul's secret regarding the girl's murder, for fear of losing her newly won piece of happiness. In turn it means she has to remain silent, as she has always done in her many years of marriage. So it is that this love ultimately turns Lena herself into a fallen angel.