The English Patient (1996)

At the close of WWII, a young nurse tends to a badly-burned plane crash victim. His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair.

Director:

Anthony Minghella

Writers:

Michael Ondaatje (novel), Anthony Minghella (screenplay)

Stars:

Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe

Won 9 Oscars. Another 53 wins & 75 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ralph Fiennes	...	Almásy
Juliette Binoche	...	Hana
Willem Dafoe	...	Caravaggio
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Katharine Clifton
Naveen Andrews	...	Kip
Colin Firth	...	Geoffrey Clifton
Julian Wadham	...	Madox
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Major Muller
Kevin Whately	...	Hardy
Clive Merrison	...	Fenelon-Barnes
Nino Castelnuovo	...	D'Agostino
Hichem Rostom	...	Fouad
Peter Rühring	...	Bermann
Geordie Johnson	...	Oliver
Torri Higginson	...	Mary

Storyline

October 1944 in war torn Italy. Hana, a French-Canadian nurse working in a mobile army medical unit, feels like everything she loves in life dies on her. Because of the difficulty traveling and the dangers, especially as the landscape is still heavily booby-trapped with mines, Hana volunteers to stay behind at a church to care solely for a dying semi-amnesiac patient, who is badly burned and disfigured. She agrees to catch up to the rest of the unit after he dies. All the patient remembers is that he is English and that he is married. Their solitude is disrupted with the arrival at the church of fellow Canadian David Caravaggio, part of the Intelligence Service, who is certain that he knows the patient as a man who cooperated with the Germans. Caravaggio believes that the patient's memory is largely in tact and that he is running away from his past, in part or in its entirety. The patient does open up about his past, all surrounding his work as a cartographer in North Africa, which ...

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Plot Keywords:

patient | nurse | flashback | english | church | 

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Taglines:

In love, there are no boundaries.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, some violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Juliette Binoche: The Art of Being - Official Fansite Official Facebook

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English German Italian Arabic

Release Date:

6 December 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

El paciente inglés

Filming Locations:

Degache, Tunisia

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$278,439, 17 November 1996, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$78,651,430, 7 September 1997

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$134,700,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, Tiger Moth Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

162 min 250 min (rough cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS (8 channels) DTS-Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Saul Zaentz had been a particular fan of Anthony Minghella's first film Truly Madly Deeply (1990) and had made it clear that he would like to work with the director. He was therefore delighted when Minghella brought him the book by Michael Ondaatje.

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Goofs

when the jazz band plays, the vibraphone player uses four mallets in a modern style which was first used in the 70's.

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Quotes

Almásy: How can you ever smile, as if your life hadn't capsized?

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Crazy Credits

Disclaimer in end credits: "While a number of the characters who appear in this film are based on historical figures, and while many of the areas described - such as the Cave of Swimmers and its surrounding desert - exist and were explored in the 1930s, it is important to stress that this story is a fiction and that the portraits of the characters who appear in it are fictional, as are some of the events and journeys."

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Connections

Referenced in Seinfeld: The English Patient (1997)

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Soundtracks

Wang Wang Blues
(1921)
Music by Gus Mueller, Buster Johnson (as "Buster" Johnson), and Henry Busse
Lyrics by Leo Wood
Published by Cromwell Music, Inc., EMI Feist Catalog, Inc., and Bienstock Publishing Co.
On behalf of Redwood Music Ltd.
Performed by Benny Goodman
Courtesy of Columbia Records By arrangement of Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

A reader's movie.

I can understand why some people think this movie is boring. I think it appeals much more to people who are used to the pacing of classic books.

I'm sure many of those who hated it are much like a co-worker of mine who said "Books? I haven't a book since I had to in high school." I checked some of the names of the people who reviled this movie and sure enough it seems many of them think Armaggedon was an "awesome" movie and Chris Farley was a "Comic genius". And that's O.K. Taste is an individual thing.

My sensibilities tell me that the english patient is a very good movie that takes effort to appreciate. Much in this movie is very subtle. It is not a vacation for the brain.(Hey, sometimes the brain NEEDS a vacation, and stupid movies provide that!) Also, it is not a cynic's movie. It's about idealism, tragedy and regret. About how people can want the best but have it all fall apart because of bad choices, and have to go on with the regret of never being able to remedy the situation. Not so much a love story as a tragic one. So many people destroyed because of the selfishness of two people couldn't(wouldn't?) control themselves.

I would ask those who thought the movie boring to watch it again when you feel able to pay full attention to what's going on in the film and how different bits of dialogue dovetail into subtle suggestions of how the characters are feeling and thinking. This movie takes an investment of time, thought and emotion. If this investment is made, I think most people who watch it will feel rewarded.