The movie follows the story of Aydin, a former actor who runs a small hotel in central Anatolia with his young wife Nihal. Aydin lives his experience in management with his wife, who has a stormy relationship with him and his sister Nikla who suffers from her recent divorce.
Ceylan's deeply observant, quiet epic might leave you detached at first, but this is the kind of work that aims to creep up on and haunt you in the long haul, in many not instantly recognizable ways.
Ceylan spins gold in thought and image, set to the mournful strains of Schubert's Piano Sonata No. 20, with this impeccably acted morality tale of a wealthy man who sins by omission.
The formidable running time will doubtless deter many, which is a shame: Winter Sleep is never less than richly engrossing, even if some scenes, stretched too long, take on a didactic, even slightly hectoring tone.
