CAN a man be in love with two women at the same time? That’s the question German director-writer Valeska Grisebach asks in her astute sophomore feature, “Longing.”

Markus (Andreas Muller) is a 30-something metal worker and volunteer fireman in a village (population 200) near Berlin. He lives an ordinary life with his longtime lover, Ella (Ilka Welz).

Fate steps in when Markus goes to a convention, gets pie-eyed and wakes up the next morning in bed with a waitress whose name he doesn’t know.

She’s Rose (Anett Dornbusch), and she and Markus are soon having regular trysts. Should he split with Ella? Markus has trouble deciding – being that his life would probably be the same with either woman.

Grisebach makes good use of her low-budget and nonprofessional leads. Just as the story is minimalist, so too is the documentary-like film’s look: long static takes and tons of close-ups. An epilogue allows viewers to come to terms with the film’s tragic ending.

LONGING
In German, with English subtitles. Running time: 88 minutes. Not rated (sexuality). At Anthology Film Archives, Second Avenue and Second Street, East Village.