Winter Sleep
classified 15 SPlease note: This was screened in Nov 2014
Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Once Upon A Time In Anatolia) returns to the epic backdrop of Turkey's rural steppes for this ravishingly beautiful and daringly multifaceted Palme d'Or winner. Set amid the rock-hewn houses of a picture-postcard town, it centres on retired actor Aydin (Haluk Bilginer), who lives with his wife and sister in a boutique hotel, generally pre-occupied with writing his local newspaper column and leaving the business of dealing with his poor tenants to his manager.
When a boy hurls a stone at his car, it upsets his routine, and the fissures spread through his life, his family, and, ultimately, his sense of self. It's all about the conversations, and the three plus hour running time demands a commitment, but it is overwhelmingly worth it. Ceylan owes a debt to Chekhov (he's thanked at the end) but this is very much a work of singular uniqueness - truly filmmaking of the highest order.
- The evening screening of Winter Sleep on Tue 25 Nov is part of our Cinébites deal: get a cinema ticket, veggie or meat one pot pie, and a drink (wine/beer or soft drink) for only £15.
Ticket prices: Screenings before 16:00: £5.50 full / £4.00 concessions. Screenings after 16:00: £8.00 full / £6.50 concessions.