The English Patient (1996)

Please Leave A Comment Below

The English Patient (1996)

8/10

Starring

Ralph Fiennes

Juliette Binoche

Willem Dafoe

Directed by Anthony Minghella

What a classic.

The English Patient is a romantic drama based on a novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. The movie is one you have to make sure you see. It is set before and during World War II, the movie tells a story via series of flashback, which in turns merges with the present events of how this patient wound up in the monastery.

Here is a movie that will thrill you in the screenplay; there is never a dull moment on screen. Each scene unfolds more about the mystery and in turns draws you in to want to see how it will all link up. It was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and it took home 9, including Best Picture (It also won Best Motion Picture – Drama in the Golden Globes Awards and Best Film in the BAFTA Awards) and Best Director for the late Anthony Minghella.

The great thing about The English Patient is the acting portrayed by Juliette Binoche who plays Hana in the movie, she was just exquisite and there was no dull moment when she was concerned.

The movie is about an English patient (Ralph Fiennes) during World War II; he was in a monastery badly burnt and was being tended to by a nurse named Hana (Juliette Binoche). The mystery about this patient is that he speaks fluent English and seems to know practically all songs, but refuses to disclose his name saying he has forgotten.

There at the monastery with them is a man who calls himself a thief (Willem Dafoe), he is hunting for a man that he knew before the war began who he believes betrayed him to the Germans.

While lying on the bed unable to move around anymore, the English patient starts to have flashbacks about his life before the war, the woman he fell in love with and the predicament that led to them being together.

The flash backs and the thief’s investigations were all leading to one thing, “who is this English patient and how did he get so burned beyond recognition?”

The movie was both a critical and commercial success in 1996, making almost 10 times its 27 million production cost. One thing you will also appreciate in this movie is the cinematography, the movie boasts of the best of the best in cinematography; from plane scenes to the desert scenery it is all just wonderful.

If you are like me that waited this long to even consider watching this film, then like me you are just delaying the experience of one of the best romantic drama that there is.