Longing (2007) Plot Summary Explained

Markus's affair with Rose begins after he witnesses a stranger's suicide attempt at a traffic accident, an event that emotionally destabilizes him and exposes him to the fragility of life for the first time. While attending a firefighting course, he drinks heavily and wakes up in Rose's bed, after which he continues visiting her despite still loving Ella. The affair is less about Rose herself and more about Markus acting on a sudden, restless impulse he cannot control after his emotional foundations are shaken.

Foreshadowing: Markus's emotional vulnerability is already visible when he turns to alcohol at the firefighting course, which directly leads to the first encounter with Rose.

• markus affair
• rose affair
• markus cheating
• ella
• infidelity
• emotional breakdown

Rose falls from the balcony of her apartment immediately after Markus tells her he wants to end their meetings. The exact circumstances of the fall are left ambiguous, which is why Markus becomes the focus of a police inquiry. The film deliberately avoids confirming whether Rose jumped, slipped, or was pushed, using the uncertainty to intensify the guilt that consumes Markus afterward.

Foreshadowing: The pattern of suicide attempts begins with the heartbroken man at the road accident, suggesting Rose's fall may be a continuation of that motif rather than a random accident.

• rose balcony fall
• rose accident
• markus police
• balcony incident
• rose injury

The heartbroken man at the road accident is the first suicide attempt Markus ever witnesses, and it leaves a deep imprint on him by revealing how quickly despair can lead to self-destruction. That image resurfaces when Markus himself attempts suicide later, making his act feel like a grim echo of the stranger's story rather than a spontaneous decision. The parallel suggests Markus's collapse is not caused by the affair alone but is rooted in the existential shock of first confronting death in such a personal way.

Foreshadowing: The stranger's suicide attempt is introduced early in Longing and quietly foreshadows Markus's own act at the end, linking the two men through shared despair.

• stranger suicide
• markus suicide attempt
• parallel
• despair
• heartbreak
• first responder

Markus attempts suicide because the cumulative weight of guilt, the loss of Ella, the police investigation, and Rose's injuries leaves him completely isolated with no emotional support. Unlike the stranger at the accident, Markus has a community, a wife, and a stable identity, all of which are stripped away in rapid succession. The suicide attempt is framed as an escape from a life he no longer recognizes, shaped by consequences he feels incapable of facing.

Foreshadowing: His growing reliance on alcohol during the firefighting course foreshadows his inability to cope when the real crises arrive.

• markus suicide
• despair
• loneliness
• guilt
• self-destruction
• hospital

Before the accident, Markus lives a quiet, orderly life as a locksmith and volunteer firefighter, with emotional stability and a devoted marriage. The accident forces him to confront severe injury, death, and the fact that the victim intentionally tried to end his own life, shattering his sense of a predictable world. From that point on, he becomes increasingly vulnerable to impulses he previously would have suppressed, which directly leads to the affair and the chain of disasters that follow.

• traffic accident
• markus character change
• first responder
• turning point
• vulnerability

Ella leaves because the scandal surrounding Rose's fall and the police inquiry makes staying with Markus publicly and emotionally unbearable in their small town. Her departure is not only a reaction to the affair itself but to the damage his choices have brought onto their shared life and reputation. By leaving, Ella refuses to absorb the shame Markus has created, which deepens his isolation and contributes to his eventual collapse.

• ella leaves markus
• separation
• scandal
• marriage breakdown
• small town gossip

The film deliberately never reveals which woman Markus chooses, if either, after he is released from the hospital. Children in a playground speculate about his decision, but their guesses carry no narrative authority and reflect community gossip rather than truth. This open ending reinforces the idea that Markus's fate is uncertain and that his story resists any clean resolution.

• ending
• markus choice
• ella or rose
• ambiguous ending
• unresolved

Markus drinks at the firefighting course because he is still emotionally processing the shock of witnessing the stranger's suicide attempt, an experience for which he has no framework. Alcohol becomes a way to numb the existential discomfort the accident stirred up. This drinking directly leads to his encounter with Rose, making the course a turning point where emotional avoidance turns into active self-sabotage.

Foreshadowing: His discomfort with the emotional weight of the accident scene foreshadows his later inability to process guilt after Rose's fall.

• firefighting course
• alcohol
• drinking
• markus coping
• emotional avoidance

The police investigate because the fall happens moments after Markus tells Rose he wants to stop seeing her, raising immediate suspicion about the circumstances. Markus is the only known person with Rose at the time, and her severe injuries elevate the case beyond a simple accident. The investigation is less about proven evidence and more about circumstantial pressure, which is enough to destroy Markus's standing in the community.

• police investigation
• rose fall
• markus interrogation
• circumstantial
• suspicion

The children discuss Markus's situation after his release from the hospital, debating which woman he will return to, or whether he will return to either at all. Their conversation reflects how the entire town has been talking about his private tragedy, turning his pain into local gossip. By ending the film on their voices rather than his, the story emphasizes that Markus's life is now shaped by the judgments of others, not by his own choices.

• children playground
• gossip
• town
• ending scene
• community judgment

The film never confirms Markus is directly responsible for the physical fall, but it makes clear he is morally responsible because his decision to end the affair triggers the moment. Even if Rose jumped or slipped on her own, Markus's rejection is the immediate cause, which is why the guilt overwhelms him. The ambiguity is intentional, leaving the viewer to weigh whether intention, causation, or consequence defines responsibility.

• markus responsibility
• guilt
• rose fall
• moral blame
• ambiguity