Winter Sleepers
| Wintersleepers | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Tom Tykwer |
| Produced by | |
| Written by | Tom Tykwer |
| Screenplay by | Anne-Françoise Pyszora |
| Based on |
Expanse of Spirit by Anne-Françoise Pyszora |
| Starring |
Ulrich Matthes Floriane Daniel Marie-Lou Sellem Heino Ferch Josef Bierbichler |
| Music by |
Reinhold Heil Tom Tykwer Johnny Klimek |
| Cinematography | Frank Griebe |
| Edited by | Katja Dringenberg |
| Distributed by | Prokino Filmverleih Bavaria Film International |
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Release date
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Running time
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124 minutes |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
Winter Sleepers (German: Winterschläfer meaning "hibernators") is a 1997 German film directed by Tom Tykwer. It was premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival.
The film is set in the deeply snowy alpine winter resort of Berchtesgaden in Bavaria; the story begins shortly after Christmas Day, with five people returning, not all of whom are connected.
Laura, a surgical nurse, and Rebecca, a translator, live together in the house that Rebecca inherited from her great aunt. René is a projectionist in a cinema. Marco, Rebecca's boyfriend, is a skiing instructor who drives an expensive Alfa Romeo. Theo is a middle-aged farmer who lives with his wife Edith, their daughter, and two sons on a poor farm nearby.
When Marco arrives, he is greeted passionately by Rebecca, and tugged into the house. He leaves his car open outside, with the key still in the ignition. It is the early morning, and René, walking drunkenly home, passes the house, taking pictures, among other things, of Rebecca and Marco having sex inside. Finally, he climbs into the car and drives away. Theo, meanwhile, is taking his horse to the veterinarian, but doesn't let his daughter come with him. He doesn't notice when she sneaks into the horse box with the animal. Theo, distracted by his sons calling him on a walkie-talkie and driving on the wrong side of the road, almost collides with René. The Alfa Romeo crashes off the road and into a snowdrift and Rene is not hurt; however, the horse box is flipped over and the girl and horse badly injured. Theo is dazed, but René, rather than helping, takes a photo of him, and as he walks off, Theo is stricken by a strange snake-like scar on the back of René's head. When Theo is helped out of his truck by a passing driver, he shoots the injured horse on the spot and takes his daughter to the hospital where Laura works.
There, Laura hears Theo becoming obsessed with finding the man who caused the accident, to prove his own innocence: no-one believes that there was another car, because it is buried under snow. All he remembers was the shape of René's face close to him, when he took the photo. The young girl is operated-on and is in a coma, between life and death.
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