Sternfeld started with well-conceived characters and simply didn't succeed in making them flesh. These people have traits instead of personalities; goals instead of dreams.

To read between the lines in Winter Solstice, you better bring a magnifying glass.

Such a low-key drama that I'm not sure anything happens in it at all.

Give Winter Solstice some credit for taking an unexpected route.

Scene after scene of halting conversations, meaningful glances and awkward pauses that will leave you as cold as the ominous title implies.

A slice-of-life film that, while well-acted, isn't compelling enough to rise to a tale to which you'd want to give two hours of your undivided attention.

The filmmaker understands that quiet desperation is often more moving than noisy suffering.