Winter Sleep (2014)

Oof, already another movie longer than three hours—196 minutes, to be exact. I hadn't paid attention to that when I arranged the order; I just saw the word "winter" and gave the title priority. At least this time I wised up and split the viewing over two days.

This must be the first Turkish film I've ever seen. Set in modern Anatolia, it follows a handful of people, primarily Aydin, a onetime actor turned columnist, hotelier, and landlord. In the course of one winter in the mountain region, he discovers just how much of a pain he is to certain tenants; his sister under the same roof, Necla; and his much younger fundraising wife, Nihal. Apparently, it all comes down to him being hard to please.

I learned later that the story is loosely adapted from one by Chekhov and another by Dostoevsky. That would explain the two subplots that only slightly merge. It also explains why the picture has long scenes within single rooms and is even bigger on talk over action than The Irishman. Very little of that talk is in English, and the DVD offered no dubbing option, so I couldn't look away.

Fortunately, I didn't very much want to. Both those writers have a way with characters, so the interpersonal conflicts herein are pretty special. For one thing, they tend to be disarmingly quiet. Aydin has a way of acting gentle and polite while not actually doing the most neighborly things. His assistant, Hidayet, is more genuine about it. Hamdi, an imam from an indebted tenant family, is quite the smiley sycophant. Necla sounds amused in her sourness. Nihal is simply tired of dealing with Aydin. Only İsmail, brother of Hamdi, is prone to getting fired up. OK, İsmail's young son chucks a rock, but he usually keeps his strife to himself, barely speaking.

What makes the movie most interesting to me is that I can easily see everyone's point of view. They all have points. Aydin thinks himself a fair landlord, not paying attention to the somewhat harsh tactics of his collectors. He can be generous, but it's not as defining an attribute for him as he seems to think. His criticisms of others, especially his own critics, have a kernel of truth (e.g., Necla really needs to do something besides snark), but in attacking opposite extremes of a given trait, he doesn't leave much room for a happy medium.

I have to say that while I don't exactly feel sorriest for Aydin, I may relate to him above all. It's terribly easy to let an obnoxious habit grow and not realize it until someone takes you aback with a complaint. Negativity's a common example, for myself as well as the general population. Lately, I've been making a conscious effort to cut down, tho that doesn't stop me from presenting my honest feelings in reviews.

If you can afford the patience for a leisurely drama with subtitles, then I recommend WS. It speaks to the hearts of viewers around the world, and you might value its lessons/reminders. I intend to check out more from director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, such as Once Upon a Time in Anatolia.