Wintersleepers

Shortly after Christmas, five people return to the snowy alpine resort of Berchtesgaden. Laura and Rebecca share a house that Laura inherited, while René works as a cinema projectionist and Marco is a skiing instructor, with Theo living on a nearby farm. The film sets up the intertwined lives and fragile relationships that drive the events to come.

Marco arrives and is greeted passionately by Rebecca, signaling their lingering chemistry and tension. He leaves his Alfa Romeo's key in the ignition, leaving the car open to the elements. The moment foreshadows trouble brewing beneath their relationship.

In the early morning, René photographs Rebecca and Marco in a private moment. He then climbs into Marco's open Alfa Romeo and drives away, taking the car for a spin while everyone else is preoccupied. His actions highlight a strange mix of trespass, memory, and guilt that threads through the story.

Theo takes his horse to the veterinarian, while his daughter secretly sneaks into the horse trailer. Distracted, Theo swerves into the opposite lane and the Alfa Romeo crashes into a snowdrift. René photographs the wreck and walks away as the girl and the horse are badly injured.

Theo is dazed and recalls a snake-like scar on René's head. A passing driver helps him out of the truck, and Theo shoots the injured horse before taking his daughter to the hospital where Laura works. This sequence sets Theo on a course to prove his innocence and pulls Laura into the tangled web of memory and truth.

Theo becomes obsessed with proving his innocence, but the car’s other driver is dismissed because the vehicle is buried in snow. His daughter remains in a coma, intensifying the town's skepticism and his personal fixation on culpability.

Marco files a report about the incident with the police and grows frustrated with the slow pace of the investigation. Meanwhile Rebecca grows increasingly dissatisfied with their relationship, feeling neglected and jealous despite their past passion.

Laura befriends René, who grants her a free cinema pass. He shows her his organized photo albums, explaining that his short-term memory problems stem from a head injury in the army and that photos are essential for remembering people and places.

Theo and Edith shut down their indebted farm as financial pressure mounts. Theo draws pictures of the remembered shape and posts posters around town seeking information, but Edith tears them down, ashamed and fearful of being blamed.

Marco begins an affair with Nina, a young student in his skiing class. He invites her to his boss's house while the boss is away, presenting it as his own to impress her and complicate his life further.

Marco burns himself on a coffee machine and is treated by Laura at the hospital. Simultaneously, Theo's daughter dies, deepening the emotional and investigative turmoil surrounding the crash.

Theo reinvestigates the crash site and uncovers the buried Alfa Romeo, clearly identifying Marco as the owner. He heads to Marco's workplace to confront the truth, crystallizing the conflict between Marco and Theo.

Theo tracks Marco to the mountains where Marco is skiing with Nina. In the fog, they lose contact and Nina is injured by falling from a ledge onto a tree. Edith tends to Nina at Theo's new residence, intensifying the precarious web of loyalties.

Theo finally confronts Marco and, in a tense exchange, tells him 'You killed her.' Marco panics and tries to flee, but he slides over a cliff and disappears into a crevasse, seemingly meeting his end.

Rebecca and the injured Nina end up on the same train, unaware of each other’s presence. The film closes with the birth of René and Laura's child, tying memory and event together as a quiet, intimate resolution.