The story is small – a remote hotel in a tiny village in the middle of the Turkish mountains is cut off by the winter, fuelling the existing disagreements between the locals – but the rest is huge. The issues are all-encompassing, the scenery and the photography are amazing (the village is in the mushroom-like rocks of Cappadocia), the plot is engrossing and the acting superb. Be warned though; the length is BIG too; we start at 4.00pm and we won't be out till around 7.20.
The critics talked it up too. ‘Intimate, spectacular and masterful ...’ – Andrew O’Hehir, Salon.com. ‘An intimate epic, Winter Sleep is right up there with the Turkish director's best’ – James Mottram, Total Film. ‘Winter Sleep demands patience, but if you last the course, you will soon understand why it so enraptured the Cannes jury’ – Geoffrey McNab, Independent.
So, a great way to spend a cold winter afternoon; I can’t wait to see it...or to discuss it afterwards!