I saw this movie soon after it first appeared on TV in 1998, I think. I liked it then, and now after a second viewing just recently, I still admire it as a visually stunning drama set mostly in the snowfields of Bavaria.And the snow is no mere prop: it's absolutely crucial to the construction of the plot and to the delicious irony of the denouement.The story traces the interaction of four people in a wintry town: Laura (Marie-Lou Stellem), a nurse at the local hospital; Rebecca (Floriane Daniel), a translator of pulp fiction and Laura's house mate; Rebecca's boyfriend, Marco (Heino Ferch), a narcissistic local sky instructor and seducer of women; and Rene (Ulrich Matthes), an introverted cinema projectionist who eventually begins a serious relationship with Laura.Outside the four people, there is Theo (Josef Bierbichler), a local villager on the verge of bankruptcy who must transport his sick horse to the vet, using his horse trailer. On the morning that Theo decides to do that, however, Rene – still trying to clear his head after last night's binge – decides it would be fun to have a drive of a parked car he finds with the keys still in the ignition. By that time, we know it is Marco's car parked there when he came to stay with Rebecca the night before.Unhappily for Rene and Theo, they are traveling in opposing directions towards each other and, during the snow storm, they only just miss each – but with tragic results: Theo's car and trailer swerves and skids all over the road to finally overturn, while Rene shoots off the road, down a slope to stop in a large snow drift. Bewildered and dazed, Rene extricates himself from the car and staggers off to walk home, leaving Theo, trapped in his car, to dimly see just the back of Rene's head. And, in the fog of alcohol and snow, Rene almost erases the whole incident from his memory.Theo reports the incident of course and begins a quest to find the driver but the police can't even find the car. In fact, they don't believe Theo's account, thinking he simply lost control on the icy road and crashed. Marco reports his car as stolen but, of course, there is nothing to link his car to Theo's situation.It is only when Rene and Laura get together that, slowly but inexorably, Theo's search for the driver ultimately reaches what he thinks is a satisfactory and violent resolution. And slow is an operative word here because Tykwer takes his time to let the story unfold with all its irony; the slow pacing, though, might turn off some viewers.Not this one, however, because the various twists to the plot allow for a suspense build-up that kept me entertained. Happily for me, I couldn't recall the ending. What made it all the more entertaining is the pulsating and moody sound track which beautifully accompanies the unfolding tragedy; which, now that I think about it, is partly reminiscent of the tragedy of Jean de Florette (1986).Like his other movies I've seen – Run, Lola, Run (1998) and Heaven (2002) – Tykwer has again demonstrated how good a director he is. One can only hope for more like them. There's nothing fancy or outrageous about the movie (a la von Triers whom I much admire also): just solid story-telling. Best of all, the characters and plot are so ordinary, the story is all the more believable. In truth, I can certainly imagine something like it happening in real life – even down to the irony of the final scene which I think is a Tykwer nod to the closing scene in From Here to Eternity (1953).The movie contains some explicit sex scenes, so it's not a movie for children or even impressionable teens, I'd suggest.Not enough for nine but give it a well-deserved eight stars.January 25, 2012.

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.

the German response to the french new wave. hardly! this movie follows the true lineage of main stream German cinema, in that while exploring human relationships and human drama it does not get too existentialist about it. the characters and story is grounded in reality and has a little bit of action, a la German TV detective shows, to quicken the pulse. the story is about two women sharing a house somewhere in the German mountains/alps. one of them is in a destructive yet highly sexual relationship with a ski instructor. the other mops around feeling lonely and meets an intriguing new stranger. the ski instructor is well defined in that while he is a cad and cheats prolificly on his girlfriend, he is not too one dimensional. the feeling one gets about him is that he is young and full of his strength and sexuality. although, there are scenes where in typical new wave backlash to the immancipation of the German male, he sits back and picks lint out of his navel while ordering his "woman" around. as in get the coffee, biatch. not to spoil the story, but he gets his just reward in the end. the mysterious stranger who becomes a seemingly rewarding boyfriend for the other female lead is less well defined. he is weird and i kept thinking now he will be a junkie or a serial killer, but he just gets amnesia. although he does steal a car in the beginning with disastrous results for a local farmer, which is one of the plot tangents which is meant to evoke universal human suffering empathy. the two lead females are humdrum boring and seem to get along well, while searching for a good man. personally, a good dog and more masturbation, is what i would recommend to them. the movie also features some good cinematography, especially the shot in the end of the blonde girl in the red sweater, smoking a cigarette, as she looks out of the frosty window at the cloud draped mountains. all in all, twyker delivers an entertaining film, which is perfect for a Saturday afternoon after a heavy meal, when heavy thoughts and philosophies are best avoided. might i also recommend taking your buxom (if your'e lucky) girl toy ;) to this movie in a dark theatre. geocities.c*m/free_love98

I decided to buy the DVD of Winterschläfer after watching the beautiful "Lola Rennt" and "Der Krieger Und Die Kaiserin" by Tom Tykwer, and it seems like it was a good decision. I can't say Winterschläfer is an excellent movie, nor can I say it was mediocre or bad. The reason being, after watching the movie, I still don't know what I think about it.. Odd but true. It's really unique, not the least bit like any other movie, including other Tom Tykwer movies. Yet another soul-crusher by Tykwer. The story is not exactly believable, but I sure did feel like I was inside the story, which usually means the film is successful. It captured me big time, and it'll most likely do the same to you or any other viewer. And you'll either love it or hate it; or start looking around stupidly with a wide open mouth just like me. I have to say the acting is EXCELLENT though. I kept telling myself what a jerk Marco is for being mean to a sweetheart like Rebecca. Only after seeing the credits, I remembered it was just a movie. Well, wrong, this is not just a movie. This is a unique experience. Although the story is extreme, and sort of unbelievable, the movie gives the viewer a bloody strong feeling that the story is taken from real life incidents. Recommended..