Turkish Film ‘Winter Sleep’ Will Awaken Viewers on Dec. 19

The latest entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards is Turkey’s “Winter Sleep,” that will be making its way into U.S. theaters on Dec. 19.

“Winter Sleep” follows main character Aydin (Haluk Bilginer), a former actor who is now in charge of a hotel on a mountain. He is in crisis, currently experiencing marital issues. Arrogantly perceiving himself to lead the region without an official title, he is always intervening in the business of the townspeople below the mountain. As a result, it is no surprise why everyone, including Aydin’s wife, loathe him so.

Aydin’s relationships are a prime focus of the film, looking at how he suffers in his marriage with his wife just as his sister had previously suffered from her own divorce. This is all done on a backdrop of winter snow that turns the hotel more than just a place to stay, but also a shelter with inexplicable virtue.

The film won the Palme d’Or and FIPRESCI Prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, the film is also revealed to analyze the crucial divide of the rich and the poor of Turkey.

When asked about the meaning behind the title, Ceylan smiled a secretive smile as he revealed, “You know, the first version of this film was four and a half hours long. In that, the sister character was using those words: ‘We are living here, as if in a winter sleep.’ Actually, ‘Winter Sleep’ was a risky title. My distributors and everyone around me didn’t want it. They said it’s a long film from a slow director. Don’t put ‘sleep’ in the title; everyone will make fun of you! But I like a challenge. It will be a reverse effect. It is better to decrease expectations. If they expect a very difficult time, then it will be less difficult for them when they see it. So I insisted on this title, although one distributor asked me to call it ‘Winter Sun.’ I told him that this is the name of a travel agent specializing in skiing holidays.”

‘Winter Sleep’ will be in theaters Dec. 19.