Winter Sleep is not a film you sleep through even though at three and a half hours one may be tempted. The winner of the Cannes Palme d’Or, this epic film is dramatic intense, literary and mainly theatrical rather than filmic. This is a sombre tale.

Inspired by stories by Anton Chekov, writer/director Nuri Bilge Ceylan has painted a vast landscape with introspective internal dialogue showing the complexity of marital relations that is independent of culture. It is a slow sombre winter tale set in the vast Anatolian landscape in Turkey amongst deep, shifting sands.

Aydin (Haluk Bilginer), a former actor turned part-time columnist and writer, runs a small hotel with his young wife Nihal (Melisa Sozen) with whom he has a stormy relationship, along with his sister Necla who is heart broken after a recent divorce. He also has a number of rental properties.

The film shows the divide between rich intelligentsia and peasantry, wealthy and dispossessed, older men and younger women, and believers and non-believers; and agonises with various moral and ethical questions.

The early crisis in the film occurs when the son of one of the tenants throws a rock at Aydin’s car. The early discussions concerning this event is the first challenge for the audience and I recommend persisting through this period as there are deeper aspects later to this film as it develops.

Whilst Aydin keeps writing and being the harsh landlord, his much younger wife is becoming increasingly frustrated at being controlled by her dominating husband. She visits the rental properties to impose her own moral code of justice and reparation, which is eventually scorned by the proud peasant.

This film is intelligent cinema with fully developed satisfying characters and highly polished actors. It is personal, intense, honest and at times brutal. WINTER SLEEP  is a long but deeply satisfying film.