Review: The English Patient

Yesterday, we watched this film. I had finished all my tasks, and we had quite a bit of free time. I was in the mood to watch something similar to The Reader.

So, here’s my review—or more like a note of appreciation.

When a love story has a grand historical, geographical, and complex background, the love between the characters often feels divine and elevated. The English Patient is a great example of this.

The desert, the scorching sun, the ever-present brownish-yellow color, and somewhere in the middle of it all, a soothing coolness like an oasis! The greenery, the blooming flowers, and how they eventually merge back into the desert sands—this is what the movie's theme feels like. Even though the plot seems straightforward, many subplots come up, but they all serve to enhance the main story.

Talking more about the plot might spoil it for you, and I don’t like giving away too much before you watch the film, so I’ll skip that.

You get to see how a simple thing like 'stability' is deeply affected in war situations, and how it turns human relationships upside down. This creates a contradiction in the story. The warmth, closeness, and love that develop in chaotic times start to lose strength when stability begins to appear. It’s as if the love is cursed. This theme also shows up in the nurse’s character in the subplot. She says, "If someone gets too close to me, if they start loving me, something bad happens to them," and you see this happening throughout the film. She lives with this fear, trying not to let anyone get too close. But where there’s moisture, greenery grows...! Eventually, her English Patient becomes part of that inevitable cycle.

Juliette Binoche has shown so many different shades in this role, like a spectrum of colors from a prism. It feels like the situations are constantly testing her empathy and compassion. In the end, her love moving towards completeness and her desire to escape from the cursed cycle of fate leave a glimmer of hope. Ralph Fiennes, in the lead role, portrays the tension and doubts of a researcher, slowly getting attracted to Catherine, with such poise that it's unmatched. He’s on screen, but you feel his pain. The courage and immense capacity to endure that he brings to his character make him the essence of the oasis in the desert... Kristin Scott Thomas, as Catherine, pours her heart into the role, like a traveler searching for an oasis. Initially, her carefree, playful nature lightens the mood, which is a delight to watch. But as the situation becomes more serious, she retains her lightness while carrying the weight of sorrow—a character graph she portrays with subtlety and intensity. Many other characters surround her as well, each performing their roles brilliantly. The film’s casting is so perfect that no one feels out of place.

Director Anthony Minghella has a strong grip on the narrative. Despite the World War II backdrop, numerous characters, and multiple subplots, he never loses sight of whose story he’s telling, how to tell it, and where to take it. Since he also co-wrote the screenplay, the narrative never feels disjointed, off-track, sprawling, or boring. Like a slowly blooming flower, the plot’s petals unfold gently.

The film’s visual style, crafted by legendary cinematographer John Seale, is maintained in a medium-wide shot viewpoint with a yellow-orangish color scheme. This visual warmth beautifully captures the passionate closeness between Catherine and Almasy.

Walter Murch, the editor who wrote the book Blink of an Eye, ensures that not a single unnecessary frame is left out when editing a film. He creates a rhythm as delicate and unfolding as a Beethoven composition, as if carving a beautiful sculpture out of stone.

The production design and costumes are not only period-appropriate but also enhance the mood and atmosphere of the story, taking it to the next level.

Why to watch: If you enjoy exploring the complexity of human relationships, especially the tender romantic ones with their ups and downs, then this film is a must-watch.

This is the same director who later gave us another tender, complex love story with the unforgettable film The Reader (2008).

I hope you enjoyed this note/review. If you’ve seen the film, do let me know. If you haven’t, be sure to watch it.

Thanks