Winter Sleepers Review
by Michael Dequina (twotrey AT juno DOT com)April 9th, 2000
_Winter_Sleepers_(Winterschläfer)_ *** (out of ****)
The poster blares "from the director of _Run_Lola_Run_," but anyone looking specifically for such an adrenaline rush would be advised to stay away. There are smatterings of director Tom Tykwer's flashy _Lola_ style in this slow, two-hour-plus drama: the pulsing techno score; some bravura, highly kinetic shots. For the most part, though, this is a film not about forward momentum but stagnant meditation. _Winter_Sleepers_, which predates _Lola_ by a year, is one of those "people intersected by chance" films, but its less-than-sprawling canvas of five characters--three of whom are already linked as the film opens--and snow-drenched, resort town setting should give one an idea of how plot comes secondary to atmosphere. In fact, one of the threads is rather mundane: a translator named Rebecca (Floriane Daniel) is involved with ski instructor Marco (Heino Ferch), a womanizer. Despite some good performances, this familiar bit of business is a little tedious, and it predictably does not stop 'til one of them wises up.
Far more involving are the other two storylines. Rebecca's housemate Laura (Marie-Lou Sellem), a nurse and aspiring actress, falls into a quiet relationship with René (Ulrich Matthes), a movie projectionist. Laura doesn't know that he is tragically linked to a farmer named Theo (Josef Bierbichler) and his dying young daughter, whom Laura cares for at the hospital. Then again, neither is René aware of any connection, for a years-ago injury has done irreparable damage to his short-term memory; to compensate, he constantly takes photographs of his surroundings. The Laura/René and René/Theo threads don't resolve themselves in an easily predictable fashion, which is why they make a more lasting impression than Rebecca/Marco. Actually, if it weren't for them, _Winter_Sleepers_ would've been a picturesque and well-acted near-miss instead of the unconventionally affecting film that it is.
Michael Dequina
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