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Wonderful Movie

Simply Perfect

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

As is so often the case, I'm very late in getting around to "The English Patient", in this case it's been a couple of decades. I recall the fanfare surrounding the movie when it was released, subsequently repeated when it was the winner of nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Told in a series of flashbacks, the story recounts the nature of an affair between Hungarian Count Laszlo de Almasy (Ralph Fiennes) and the married Englishwoman Katharine Clifton (Kristin Scott Thomas). Their passionate relationship ends in a double tragedy for both principals in a confluence of unrelated events, though it could be maintained just as Almasy stated in my summary line, that he was responsible for her death. One may argue the circumstances of Geoffrey Clinton's (Colin Firth) plane crash, though to my mind his attempt at murder/suicide failed only in the respect that his intended victim was the only one who survived. I can readily understand the conflicted opinions other reviewers bring to the table here. It's a difficult thing to weigh the difference between an unfaithful spouse and an affair that arises out of true love. On that score, I tend to reserve my sympathies on the side of Katharine and Almasy. Yet the story line throws in a complicated betrayal on the part of The Count, who offered his services to the Nazis in order to return to his injured lover in the desert. In that regard, I do not absolve Almasy for the courage of his convictions, even when he rationalizes that "thousands of people DID die, just different people". Evoking the grand sweep and epic proportions of "Lawrence of Arabia", the film is a haunting tale of love endured under compromising circumstances that ends unsparingly for the characters and viewer alike. The performances of all the principals are noteworthy, with a special nod to Juliette Binoche in her role as Almasy's nurse as his intricate story unfolds. To be fair, the film requires some patience, as it's nearly three hour run time will test the resolve of uncommitted viewers, though many will find their forbearance well rewarded.

The most impressive aspect of The English Patient is its devotion to the emotions, turbulence and tragedy of the time, World War II. With the world turned upside down by a war and the end of Europe's royal class, viewers are taken on a visually stunning journey of love, betrayal, constant loss and the ever-so-slow passing of the central character, Count Laszlo de Almasy, brilliantly played by Ralph Fiennes. Many reviewers term this a "reader's movie," and so it is. It's also a movie of the visual and musical arts, with scenes throughout the work stretching the bounds of fixed concepts. I often listen to the soundtrack by Gabriel Yared, with wide swaths of themes reveling in the adventures of archeologists in the Sahara and discoveries of Italian monastic art. Countering the classic themes are popular jazz and big band pieces from the 1930s and 40s, with de Almasy renowned for knowing the lyrics to every piece from the era. The characters throughout the story are classic, which weaves an enduring tableau of emotions, memories and the realization that as much as many view each era as different, there is always a sense of the retelling of stories, best stated with Casablanca's song, As Time Goes By. Lastly, there's a simple reason The English Patient earned nine Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Anthony Minghella: It's one of the best movies of all time. Gabriel Yared, composer and wide range of popular pieces from the 1930s and 40s.

People have made jokes about this film, like me. I saw it for the first time last night, in it's entirety. This near two three quarter hour movie, is one you become more engrossed in, the longer you watch. One reason, is to find the catalyst, responsible for a plane that goes down, where survivor Fiennes (yeah, the reputable guy on airlines) a lone author who becomes involved in a fatal affair, that claims beauty, Kristin Scott Thomas, never looking sexier, here. He's working with an archaeologist team, from what I can see, in the wide spanning desert of Cairo, not a place you want to brake down in, Summer or fall, where it's headed by Firth, Kristin Scott's Thomas's husband. The fatal affair intensifies, as we go back and forth with a bed ridden, skinless, Fiennes who has practically lost his face, and other features, burnt beyond recognition (think the sloth victim in Se7en) where he's nursed by army sister, (Binoche, a wonderful actress) who has her eyes on someone else. She plays a quite damned, if a little reserved nurse, whose time and dedication to her patients, where I'm really talking Fiennes here, is much admired. Willem Dafoe plays a bit of a shadowy character, out for revenge against Fiennes, where I could piece the whole following scenario, as experiencing this love triangle in other films, but there's a little bit more to it, which I liked, Dafoe's reasons for his black woolen mitts. Here's a great film, with great actors and characters, especially the ambiguous one of Fiennes, which should be viewed, by those who haven't seen it, even 20 years after it's release. It's ending is sad and memorable, if bleak too, especially if you consider Fienne's fate. Great film, that will stay with you, after seeing it.

I can't even fathom how this film won nine Oscars. The English Patient is by far the most boring movie I have ever seen. I am the firm believer that romance movies can't be about three hours long. I know, this film is about two hours and 40 minutes, it felt like seven hours. It isn't entertaining, it's depressing. This movie is a three hour sappy love story and it is brutally boring. Know the film is shot well and the acting isn't bad, it was just chicle and not inserting. I don't want to write a long review for this so just know, if you watch this movie it is a commitment even if you watch it in multiple sittings on multiple days it feels like the longest experience in my entire life. If you absolutely love romance movies you'll like The English Patient, but if your like me and you want to be invested and care about the characters then don't watch this movie. Life is short and this movie feels like it takes a huge part of your life away.