Winterschläfer (1997)

Director:

Tom Tykwer

Writers:

Anne-Françoise Pyszora (novel)
Anne-Françoise Pyszora (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 October 1997 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Ein Liebesthriller.

Plot:

Young blonde translator Rebecca lives with her boyfriend ski instructor Marco in a mountain villa owned by her friend...

Plot Keywords:

Ski Instructor | Short Term Memory Loss | New Year's Eve | Hit And Run | Amnesia

Awards:

8 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Ulrich Matthes	...	Rene
Heino Ferch	...	Marco
Floriane Daniel	...	Rebecca
Marie-Lou Sellem	...	Laura
Josef Bierbichler	...	Theo
Agathe Taffertshofer	...	Theos Frau Edith
Sophia Dirscherl	...	Theos Tochter Marita (as Sofia Dirscherl)
Laura Tonke	...	Nina
Sebastian Schipper	...	Otto
Werner Schnitzer	...	Chefarzt
Saskia Vester	...	Schwester Anna
Robert Meyer	...	Keibl

Also Known As:

Winter Sleepers (USA)
Wintersleepers (Europe: English title)

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Spain:13 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

X-Filme Creative Pool

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Marco is falling, the parachute on his back is clearly visible.

Movie Connections:

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

Soundtrack:

No Plans No Projects

This is great cinema from a country that isn't known for it

I had seen "Lola Rennt" before and I remember that I liked a lot (I even bought it on DVD). So when I got the chance to see another movie from Tom Tykwer I didn't think twice and watched it. Although it is very hard to compare both movies, I must say that I liked this movie even a bit more.

In this movie we meet five people who, at first sight, don't seem to have much in common, but faith and love brings them all together. You'll see Rebecca. She's a translator who lives with her boyfriend, a ski instructor and a real womanizer, in a villa owned by her friend Laura, a nurse. Marco's car is stolen by Rene, a local cinema projectionist, who suffers from amnesia. He still knows everything that happened in the past but can't remember recent facts. While he's driving Marco's car, he causes an awful accident with a local farmer called Theo. Theo's daughter ends up in a coma and is rushed to the hospital where Laura works, where she dies later on. In the mean time Laura has fallen in love with Rene, who doesn't know what has happened. And Theo, who can't accept his daughter's death, tries everything to find the man who caused the accident and killed his daughter, so he can punish him...

What makes this movie so good is the combination of some very fine acting, a great choice of music, very beautiful images and a touching story. If you like movies like "21 Grams" than you definitely have to see this one as well. This is the kind of movie that will never be a great success in the multiplexes, but that will be loved by all who like to see a movie with some depth. You know what I mean, it doesn't have to be art-cinema, but not the 36th sequel of a movie based on a comic book either.

This is honest and sincere cinema from a country that isn't exactly very well known for it. Although I know several German movies that are more than just worth a watch ("Der Untergang" and "Lola Rennt" are two others), German movies aren't as well known or famous as the ones from Spain and Sweden and to a lesser extent France. Nevertheless Tom Tykwer proves with this one what a good director he is and that's why I can recommend it to everybody who likes to see some good, European cinema. I give it an 8.5/10.