All of the attention-grabbing flyers and ads of "Winter Sleepers" that are currently plastered all over campus tell you that the film is made by the director of last year's art house hit, "Run Lola Run." What it doesn't tell you is the fact that German director Tom Tykwer actually made "Winter" one year prior to "Lola."
Winter Sleepers
Starring:
Floraine Daniel, Hino Ferch and Marie-Lou Sellem
Directed by:
Tom Tykwer
Now playing:
Showplace 12 West
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Now thanks to the success of "Lola," "Winter" is currently making its rounds in art house theaters across the country. "Winter" is strictly for the curious "Lola" fans, though. "Winter" and "Lola" share numerous thematic and stylistic similarities, but unfortunately the former is at best an aimless stylistic exercise that paves the way to the latter's success. Tykwer's fascination in fate and chance is evident in both films. But whereas "Lola" only has two characters and one mission, "Winter" boasts an unmotivated ensemble cast.
René (Ulrich Matthes) steals a car for a joy ride, then causes an accident in a snowy Bavarian mountain village that results in a young girl's coma. The car's owner, Marco (Heino Ferch), is more preoccupied with his various promiscuous urges rather than finding his car. Theo (Josef Bierbichler), the father of the girl in the coma, is obsessed with finding the driver responsible for the car crash. René, who is conveniently amnesic, starts dating Laura (Marie-Lou Sellem), the nurse who is tending the girl.
"Winter" begins with a promising start that brings to mind "The Sweet Hereafter" and the films of Krzysztof Kieslowski set to a thumping "Lola" techno score.
While the film is beautiful to look at, nothing much happens after the fateful accident. The crash ultimately proves irrelevant to the rest of the film, and the characters are uninspired and uninteresting.
If you are a hardcore "Lola" fan, you may find "Winter" remotely interesting. Otherwise, you can wait for Tykwer's new film "The Princess and the Warrior" to come out next year.
