Sehnsucht (1990)

Sieghart is a hydraulic engineer leading a scientific test drilling project in Lusatia. One evening during a thunderstorm, his off-road vehicle gets stuck, and he seeks shelter at a remote farmstead. There, amid an idyllic, unspoiled setting, he is taken in until the next morning by Ena, a young farmer, and her fiancé Mathias, who is visiting at the time. When Sieghart steps out of his guest room into the living room once more, he sees the two of them standing in front of a small idol hidden in a cupboard, then goes back to bed. Sieghart falls in love with Ena at once and confesses his feelings at their next meetings. But Ena does not want to embark on an affair and asks Mathias to marry her as soon as possible. On the eve of their wedding, at the traditional pre-wedding party, she is unable to hide her love for Sieghart. Mathias notices her feelings and invites them both on a carriage ride, during which he keeps increasing the speed. The carriage crashes at a nearby lake, and its occupants are hurled into the water. Mathias is never seen again. Ena marries Sieghart, and when he is offered a position at an international hydraulic engineering institute in Paris, she goes with him. But her husband is so absorbed in his work that he has less and less time for Ena, and she grows bored alone in their hotel room. She spends a great deal of time walking around the city. Lonely and empty inside, she loses herself in daydreams and memories, longs for Mathias, and cannot find peace. Then, when she sees her little idol displayed for sale in a shop window, she gives in to her longing and flees back home to the lake where it all happened, hoping at last to forget him there.