Winter Sleepers
by Tom Tykwer
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Floriane Daniel, Heino Ferch, Josef Bierbichler, Marie-Lou Sellem, Ulrich MatthesDirector: Tom Tykwer
Cinematographer: Frank Griebe
Writer: Tom Tykwer
Editor: Katja Dringenberg
Producer: Maria Köpf
Producer: Stefan Arndt
Writer: Anne-Françoise Pyszora
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); German (Original Language); German (Dubbed)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 122 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-11-07
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: WinStar Cinema
Movie Reviews of Winter Sleepers
Movie Review: Amazing Camera Work - Predates Run Lola Run
Summary: 5 Stars
Tom Tykwer, the director of Winter Sleepers, has a unique method of telling stories. His masterpiece Run Lola Run, where he explores his theory that some tiny change in a story can have monumental impact later. Winter Sleepers was released one year before Lola, and this film shows some of Tykwer's experiments in preparation for Lola.
Telling much about this story would harm viewing this film. In the broadest sense, it is a film about two women, Rebecca and Laura, that share a house owned by Laura. Rebecca has a ski instructor boyfriend. Laura is single, but looking. The universe of this little Alpen town is small. A lot happens in the over 2 hour movie. But yet, not a lot happens. And make no mistake, this is not a happy film.
The cinematography of this film is incredible. The opening montage with the gorgeous music, amazing helicopter shots of snow covered mountains. The almost effortless, silky smooth camera movements are poetry. Tykwer knows exactly how to make the right camera movement at the right moment without calling attention to the fact that the scene is moving. He unveils exactly the right objects at the perfect moment.
There is a sense in this film that tiny details do have grave consequences. The ski instructor drives up in his Alfa Romeo, he's so excited to see Rebecca, they kiss as he opens the door, he sweeps her into the house; leaving the keys in the car and the car door open. Two very simple small things that have incredible consequences - in fact are the tipping point in the whole story. Its the same idea as in Run Lola Run, except that the conclusion isn't played out three times with three small changes.
The film is beautiful to watch. Rebecca loves the color red. I'm certain this has some meaning in the film; or it is simply, she looks absolutely stunning in red. Floriane Daniel, Rebecca, is a beautiful actress. Her ski bum boyfriend, Marco, is a tall handsome man. Laura has a unique bohemian beauty about her. Rene, the unusual or odd love interest Laura develops, has a special allure. The town, the mountains, the snow, Laura's amazing little house, they are all beautiful.
I am a fan of Tom Tykwer's work. There is a progression in his film making. Winter Sleepers is fairly easy to watch, he builds one story and tells it one time. Run Lola Run is definately his masterpiece film, but seeing that event three times over can be a bit daunting. The Princess and the Warrior was an odd film, that stepped in a little different direction. Heaven, is my next film to watch, starring Kate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi. Paris, Je T'Aime (Paris, I Love You), is a strange film where 20 seemingly unrelated stories are told; but then build into a single coherent movie. Remarkable that a director could pull this off. And finally Perfume - The Story Of A Murderer, a revolting, difficult to watch movie. As a body of work, he is a genius.
This film is not rated. There is no violence. There insn't much strong language. There are several scenes with exposed breasts. When full frontal nudity might happen, artfully placed foreground objects obscure the private parts, both female and male. There are a couple of sex scenes, all done artfully. Rebecca in her clothes, is shown masturbating. The important factor, these scenes are all meaningful in the film, they are not just gratuitious nudity.
The DVD is shown in German with English subtitles that can be turned off. There are only a few special features, filmographies, trailers, and production credits. Tykwer, rightly so, makes his film, and what is on the cutting room floor stays there.
This is a fine film. The beginnings of a great film director are visible. The pace is not speedy, the story develops slowly and deliberately. It is gorgeous to watch.
Summary of Winter Sleepers
Tom Tykwer, writer-director of the international hit Run Lola Run, shows a more pensive side with Winter Sleepers. The film examines the lives of five characters in the aftermath of an auto accident. As with Run Lola Run, Tykwer's main concern is with chance and coincidence, and the ways people unwittingly influence the course of each other's lives. Theo, a farmer, sets off to take his horse to the vet, unaware that his daughter is hidden in the trailer. Momentarily distracted, Theo swerves to avoid a sports car coming the other way and crashes into a mountain slope, critically injuring his daughter. The sports car is covered by snow, and René, the driver, digs his way out and leaves the scene. Meanwhile translator Rebecca negotiates a stormy-but-sexy relationship with loutish ski instructor Marco, both of them unaware that Marco's stolen car was involved in the crash, and Rebecca's roommate Laura nurses the young accident victim by day and begins a tentative relationship with René by night. While Winter Sleepers doesn't have the same manic pace as Lola, Tykwer's visual style is very much in evidence--he makes beautiful images of everything from the snow-covered Bavarian mountains to a cut finger. As it moves through a series of tiny but crucial events to a truly haunting ending, Winter Sleepers is in many ways reminiscent of Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter, both in its central plot device and in its melancholy atmosphere of fatal inevitability. --Ali DavisSimilar DVD Movies
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