The English Patient (1996)

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Directed by Anthony Minghella.

Starring Naveen Andrews, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas.

Anthony Minghella wrote and directed this award-winning adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's novel about a doomed and tragic romance set against the backdrop of World War II. In a field hospital in Italy, Hana (Juliette Binoche), a nurse from Canada, is caring for a pilot who was horribly burned in a plane wreck; he has no identification and cannot remember his name, so he's known simply as "the English Patient," thanks to his accent. When the hospital is forced to evacuate, Hana determines en route that the patient shouldn't be moved far due to his fragile condition, so the two are left in a monastery to be picked up later. In time, Hana begins to piece together the patient's story from the shards of his memories; he's actually Count Laszlo Almasy (Ralph Fiennes), of Hungarian nobility and an explorer working with a group mapping uncharted territory in North Africa. An Englishman, Geoffrey Clifton (Colin Firth), soon joins Almasy's team; travelling with him is his lovely and spirited wife, Katherine (Kristin Scott Thomas). Katherine and Laszlo soon fall in love, which leads Laszlo to betray his friend, his country and all that is dear to him. Meanwhile, Hana and the Patient are joined by Kip (Naveen Andrews), a Sikh with a gift for defusing mines, and Caravaggio (Willem Dafoe), an intelligence agent who knows some of Laszlo's most shameful secrets. The English Patient won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress (Juliette Binoche). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Awesome.
by ElectroBoy in ElectroBoy Blog

loved it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"Synopsis: Tuscany, as the Allies pursue the Germans north at the end of WWII: traumatised by loss and carnage, Canadian nurse Hana (Binoche) decides to stay behind in an abandoned, bombed monastery and care for her dying patient (Fiennes). He seems to recall little of his life, but when Caravaggio (Dafoe), a vengeful, morphine-addicted thief, turns up and quizzes him over past dark secrets, and as Hana reads from his beloved Herodotos, memories return of the pre-war years when, as an archaeologist/cartographer in the Sahara, he had a passionate affair with Katharine (Scott Thomas), wife of a British colleague. My verdict: Though Anthony Minghella's adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's novel simplifies, jettisons and changes certain elements of the original story, it remains a rich, complex, entrancing piece of work. Part poignant romance, part suspenseful adventure, part enigmatic mystery, it's essentially a study in different responses to love and war, honour and betrayal, nationality ... " [More]

Re:Top 5 Everybody Seems To Lov ...
by laylor in Top 5

is neutral about it.

"Ok, my first post and here I go: Jacob's Ladder I first watched this film in the early 90's when I was a kid and found it incredibly boring. I watched it again in my mid 20's (so recently) and understood a lot more of the film but still found it boring. Some great performances and imagery but ultimately, unsatisfactory. The ending was a real let down, as well. Crash I cannot believe in all honesty that this won best picture or was even nominated for that matter. I found it completely cliched, hammy and pretentious. I haven't felt this hit over the head by a film since....oh I don't know, ever probably. During this film I couldn't help but think of The Birth of a Nation and how Crash actually managed to make that movie look subtle. Honorable Mentions: The English Patient, American Beauty, Flashdance, and The Lord of the Rings. " [More]

Well written and thoughtful pie ...
by ShaunHuston in ShaunHuston filmblog

hasn't rated it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"I was not moved myself to write about Anthony Minghella following his shocking and tragic death, but if i had been, I'd like to think that I would have written something as pitch perfect as this piece by Asad Raza on 3 Quarks Daily. Minghella isn't one of my favorite filmmakers, but we do own The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and I can certainly appreciate his other films, including The English Patient (1996), a movie that has been subject to far too much post-hoc revisionist criticism, especially after that Seinfeld episode. Originally posted on:Short-Circuit Signs " [More]

The English Patient
by JimBell in JimBell Blog

loved it.

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"Whenever I think of The English Patient, I remember that I never heard of anyone finishing the award-winning novel by Michael Ondantaaje. When I thought of the movie which I saw a few years ago, all I remembered was a beautiful nurse (Juliette Binoche) leaning over a badly burned patient (Ralph Fiennes) somewhere in Italy at the end of World War II. Re-watching revealed a complex, challenging movie. The writer or screen writer has two main challenges. One: he must make us care for the English patient. But the patient is a massively scarred, bed-ridden man with some kind of amnesia. In the increasingly long flashbacks, he is not a particularly lovable man: alone, reticent, handsome, multi-lingual, knotted up inside, with a propensity for staring coldly like a bird of prey. Challenge two: we have to identify with, or feel for, his romance, his great love. But it is with the rather cold wife of one of his acquaintences, lasts a relatively short time, and seems to be based on sex and o ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

liked it.

The English Patient is admired for the lush, romantic texture of its story and for its visual richness. It is a complex and rewarding film, meticulously produced and featuring superb performances from an ensemble cast, particularly Juliette Binoche, whose upset Oscar win as Best Supporting Actress (over sentimental favorite Lauren Bacall) is one aspect of the film that has never been significantly under question. It is also fair to say that few films have had so quick a downward re-evaluation. The winner of nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, the film was released to a smartly designed marketing campaign of snob appeal that overwhelmed the Oscar voting season. There arose an immediate and continuing consensus that nine Oscars may have been too many for this romantic war epic and that Fargo was the greater and more lasting work of 1996. Producer Saul Zaentz was the primary creative force behind the film, obtaining the financing and bringing together an unusually talented team of top-notch actors and tech personnel. The film was marketed as a triumph of "independent" filmmaking, even though it was essentially financed and distributed by its corporate parent, studio giant Disney. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide

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