Like Norte, The End Of History, Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Palme d'Or-winning Winter Sleep is another long haul which requires more than a little patience from the viewer, but those with the stamina to stick with it will find it a rich, hugely rewarding cinematic experience. Set in Anatolia it focuses on Mr. Aydin (Haluk Bilginer) a retired actor turned hotel proprietor and journalist who lords it over his tenants and wife alike, displaying a hubris and arrogance that only he is blind to. Resented by his family and neighbours, he nevertheless displays a sanctimonious arrogance that continues to ruffle feathers both in his community and household. Full of long, intricate dialogue scenes, Winter Sleep is a movie perhaps best savoured at home. Ceylan is a truly gifted filmmaker and this is one of his finest films to date - as much is revealed in subtle gestures as in the words spoken, while the photography of the vast Anatolian wilderness captures the scale of nature against which this character study plays out.
