Details
Movie Description
THE ENGLISH PATIENT is an epic, sweeping adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's richly layered, WWII-era novel chronicling two periods in the life of European explorer Count Laszlo Almasy (Ralph Fiennes), whose torrid affair with a colleague's wife (Kristin Scott Thomas) is countered by the beginning of the war, allegations of Nazi sympathies, and disfiguring injuries. The patient's stay at the ruins of an Italian monastery under the care of an emotionally injured French-Canadian nurse (Juliette Binoche, who won an Oscar for the role) serves as a framing device for his intriguing story. Academy Award winner Anthony Minghella directs this film that is at once incredibly modern and a well-crafted throwback to classic Hollywood epics of yesteryear., THE ENGLISH PATIENT is an epic, sweeping adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's richly layered, WWII-era novel chronicling two periods in the life of European explorer Count Laszlo Almasy, whose torrid affair with a colleague's wife is countered by the beginning of the war, allegations of Nazi sympathies, and disfiguring injuries. The patient's stay at the ruins of an Italian monastery under the care of an emotionally injured French-Canadian nurse serves as a framing device for his intriguing story.
Synopsis
Set during World War II, this film adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's novel concerns a horribly scarred, amnesiac mapmaker (Ralph Fiennes) who is found by Bedouins in the desert and then transported to Italy. When Allied nurse Hana (Juliette Binoche) devotes herself to caring for the mysterious patient in an abandoned monastery, his story of a intense love affair with a colleague's wife (Kristin Scott Thomas) begins to unfold in a series of flashbacks. Hana, meanwhile, faces her own demons and explores her attraction to a Sikh bomb expert (Naveen Andrews). Tensions escalate at the monastery following the appearance of Caravaggio (Willem Dafoe), a thumbless thief who knows the identity of the mysterious patient.
Anthony Minghella's (TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY) award winning epic is beautifully filmed with awe-inspiring scenery that includes sweeping desert vistas, crowded village markets, and serene Tuscany roads. The superb supporting cast, which includes Willem Dafoe, Colin Firth and Naveen Andrews, matches flawless performances by Fiennes, Thomas, and Binoche.
Industry Reviews
"...Minghella proves that a movie love story can be smart, principled and provoking, and still sweep you away..."
Rolling Stone - p.142 - Peter Travers
"...Respectable, intelligent....With its exotic, tapestry-like backgrounds, this is a picture of resplendently textured, sensuous surfaces..."
Variety - Todd McCarthy
"...A mesmerizing romantic epic....THE ENGLISH PATIENT captivates as only the grandest and most consuming passions can..."
Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan (11/15/1996)
"...This poetic, evocative film version of the famous novel by Michael Ondaatje circles down through layers of mystery until all of the puzzle in the story have been solved..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (11/22/1996)
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