#92 - The English Patient

Again, I must preface an entry with some information about my taste in films. Typically, I am not a fan of romantic movies (comedies, dramas, etc.) However, one of the exceptions to this would be “The English Patient.”

There are several reasons why this film is an example of a well-done dramatic, romantic, epic movie. First, the story is an intriguing one. As summarized by Angle Errigo:


“A severely burned and disfigured pilot (Ralph Fiennes) is found in the wreckage of his biplane in North Africa near the end of World War II. Apparently amnesiac, unidentified but presumed to be English, he is dying and in the care of French-Canadian nurse Hana (Juliette Binoche). Taking refuge in a devastated Italian monastry, they are joined by Willem Dafoe’s vengeful Canadian torture victim and two bomb disposal experts.” (pg. 864).

This is not only an interesting story, but is told in a very interesting way. As we watch the disfigured man being treated, follow what Hana, David Carraviggo (William Dafoe), and the bomb disposal experets are doing in the present, we also get to know this dying, unidentified man through a series of flashbacks that are interspersed with the present-day happenings.

As the disfigured man remembers his past we learn that he is Count Laszlo Almasy and that he is in fact Hungarian, not English. The memory that we witness is that of his time spent in Tuscany, Cairo, and the Sahara Desert in the late 1930s and 1945. the main focus of these memories amongst other events is the epic love affair he has with the married Katherine Clifton (Kristin Scott Thomas) that was both passionate and tragic.

The second reason this movie works is the casting of Ralph Fiennes as Count Laszlo Almasy and Kristin Scott Thomas as Katherine Clifton. In order for the affair between Laszlo and Katherine to work you need attractive people who can act. Ralph Fiennes is well-cast as Count Laszlo Almasy because he is both an excellent actor and good-looking. While, Fiennes is easy on the eyes, he also has the acting chops to handle the complex emotions that his character has at different points in the movie. Personally, I tend to find older or mature men attractive so; in this picture Ralph Fiennes is perfect.

In addition, Kristin Scott Thomas gives an first-rate peformance as Katherine Clifton. The role requires an actress who is beautiful, but who can play a strong and some-what complex women. Like, Fiennes, Scott Thomas fits the bill perfectly as she is both appealing to look at and capable of providing the right output of emotion to the various scenes.

However, perhaps what makes the torrid love affair work is the chemistry that Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas on screen. We believe that these two are in love throughout the flashbacks of their affair, and it becomes clear to the viewer in a scene with these two in a cave, during a sandstorm that an attraction to each other is developing.

Overall, the rest of the cast does a serviceable job in their roles. Besides Fiennes and Scott Thomas, the personal highlight for me in this movie is Naveen Andrews as one of the bomb disposal experts.


I am a huge fan of the tv show Lost and so it was a delight to see him in an earlier role.

One other thing about The English Patient worth noting is the gorgeous cinematography of John Seale. We are treated to majestic shots of planes flying over deserts filled with sparkling sand, as well as intimate scenes such as the previously mentioned cave scene. At times it’s quite breathtaking.

The English Patient is a film that definitely is elevated above most romantic-epics because it has an intriguing story, superb performances from Fiennes and Scott Thomas, and breathtaking cinematography.