Winter Sleepers

In the picturesque Alpine resort town of Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, five individuals from disparate walks of life converge on Laura's ancestral home, where she resides with her roommate Rebecca. Among them are René, a cinema projectionist with a penchant for capturing life's moments through his lens; Marco, Rebecca's boyfriend and a skiing instructor who flaunts his wealth in an Alfa Romeo; Theo, a middle-aged farmer struggling to make ends meet on his modest farm; Edith, his wife, and their two sons.

As the winter chill sets in, Marco arrives at the house with a flourish, only to be swept up in Rebecca's ardent affections. The couple's passion is palpable as they surrender to their desires, oblivious to the world around them. Meanwhile, René stumbles home from a night out, camera in hand, and captures the intimate moment on film. He then commandeers Marco's car, leaving it open and unlocked outside.

Theo, meanwhile, embarks on a fateful journey, taking his horse to the veterinarian while his daughter tags along in secret. As he navigates the snowy roads, his attention is diverted by his sons' chatter over a walkie-talkie, causing him to stray onto the wrong side of the road. The Alfa Romeo careens off course, and in a split second, René appears, snapping a photo of Theo before sauntering away. The horse trailer overturns, leaving the young girl and her equine companion seriously injured.

As chaos erupts, Laura finds herself drawn into Theo's quest for justice, as he becomes consumed by the need to prove his innocence in the face of skepticism and doubt. With no tangible evidence to support his claims, Theo's only lead is the eerie snake-like scar on René's head. The stakes are raised when the injured girl is rushed to the hospital where Laura works, slipping into a coma that teeters between life and death.

Theo's anguish reaches new heights as he becomes obsessed with tracking down the mysterious figure who caused the accident. His search for answers takes him on a perilous journey through the snow-covered streets of Berchtesgaden, driven by a burning need to clear his name and restore balance to his shattered world.

As Marco (Marco) futilely tries to stir the police into action regarding his stolen vehicle, his growing frustration with their lack of progress boils over into a sense of exasperation. Meanwhile, Rebecca's discontentment with their relationship continues to simmer just below the surface, fueled by feelings of being taken for granted, jealousy without justification, and a perceived lack of ambition. The once-passionate lovers are now locked in a cycle of constant bickering, their romantic spark dwindling like embers in a dying fire.

Laura's chance encounter with René at a theatrical performance leads to an unlikely friendship, one that blossoms when he offers her a free pass to his cinema and eventually shares his treasured photo album. This poignant keepsake is more than just a nostalgic reminder of his travels – it's a vital tool for coping with the debilitating effects of short-term memory loss, a condition brought on by a traumatic head injury sustained during his military service. Without these tangible mementos, René would be lost, unable to recall even the most basic details about people and places.

Theo and Edith's struggles to keep their farm afloat ultimately prove futile, forcing them to downsize and relocate to a smaller property near the resort. In a bid to jog his memory and spark a long-shot chance at finding closure, Theo creates a series of identical sketches depicting the shape he remembers from his past. He then plastered these images around town, appealing to anyone who might recognize the distinctive scar on the back of their head – a feature eerily reminiscent of René's own battle-scarred visage.

However, Edith is having none of it, viewing her husband's poster campaign as nothing more than an attempt to avoid confronting his own guilt. She tearfully removes each and every one, ashamed of his perceived lack of accountability.

As Marco's extramarital affair with Nina, a young skiing student, reaches new heights, he invites her to his boss's estate under the guise that it's his own property. Later, a mishap with the coffee machine leaves him scrambling for medical attention at the hospital – an unfortunate coincidence that occurs just as Theo receives devastating news about the loss of his daughter.

As Theo delves deeper into the mystery surrounding the car crash, a cryptic discovery at the site leads him to unearthed documents revealing Marco's ownership of the vehicle. With this new information, Theo tracks down Marco to his workplace at the ski resort, only to be met with a vague response: Marco is skiing in the mountains alongside Nina. The fates conspire against them as they become separated in the dense fog, leaving Nina to suffer a gruesome fall from a ledge and onto a tree. Shattered and disoriented, she stumbles her way to Theo's new residence, where Edith tenders to her wounds with compassion. Meanwhile, Marco frantically searches for Nina, unaware of the devastating truth awaiting him.

Their paths converge once more on the mountainside, where Theo unleashes his fierce canine companion on Marco, sparking a confrontation that culminates in a heart-wrenching revelation: "You killed her." Marco's panic turns to despair as he comprehends the gravity of his actions, but it's too late. In his desperation to flee, he injures Theo's German shepherd and makes a hasty retreat down the mountain, only to plunge into an abyssal crevasse, meeting a fatal end.

In a stunning coincidence, Rebecca and the injured Nina find themselves sharing a train ride, oblivious to each other's presence. As the credits roll, a new chapter begins with the birth of René and Laura's child, a poignant reminder that even amidst chaos and tragedy, life goes on.