Review of The English Patient (1996) by Freeman M — 19 Apr 2014

The English Patient is a superb and masterful epic to me. Sadly, most people only really remember this film because of how the show Seinfeld made fun of it with how much the character Elaine hated it while everyone else loved it (Though, it was a really funny episode. Everyone has those moments where they don't like a film critics liked). Plus, her character and the episode itself reflected just how divisive this film can be for a lot of people. It's definitely a love-it-or-hate-it kind of film, and not a matter of whether or not the viewer is smart enough to like it. It's simply not everyone's cup of tea. I for one - being in my nature to love film epics- absolutely adored The English Patient and it has gone down as one of the best film epics I've ever seen, as well as being among the greatest romances and dramas I've ever watched.

The plot is a very multi-layered story that wants the viewer to watch as it carefully unfolds and pieces together the past of its main character, who for a period of time due to memory loss and a horrible plan accident, is only known as "the English patient" and nothing else. The film is set during the course of World War II in the Allied forces, where this mysterious man is placed into the care of a Canadian nurse named Hana.

Since the hospital is evacuated and he only has a matter of days to live before he dies, Hana decides to hunker down with her patient an abandoned monastery to take care of him until he dies and she'll join the force she was a part of afterward. During this stay, she learns many things about her patient as his memory comes back, deal with her own personal problems involving losses in war, unexpected visits from strange men like Caravaggio and Kip, etc.

However, most of the film is comprised of exploring the memories of the lead character as his memory returns to him about events shortly before the horrific plane crash - events revolving a whirlwind romance with a woman named Katherine and their romance and adventures in the desert.

I found myself absorbed by the grand scale of the story encompassing many themes like war, love, tragedy, betrayal, mystery, violence, facing inner demons, and so much more. It's a very rich story that honestly had me wishing this film was a 4-hour epic (If not longer) despite the fact this film already clocks in at a whopping 2 hours and 42 minutes. I wanted more story and I wanted to learn more about the fascinating characters in their fullest details. That definitely speaks to the quality of this film for me when it not only satisfied me thoroughly, but left me wanting even more even after it gave me so much.

The story is bolstered even further by the superb acting which makes lines that would normally be deemed cheesy and turns them into something straight out of a spellbinding play, or perhaps almost poetically as well. This film features the kind of acting talent that can make me believe in whatever lines they say and never leave me rolling my eyes because it's very clear that the actors all knew exactly what they were doing even without input from a masterful director.

It's a masterful epic brimming with a mutli-layered story, multi-layered characters, beautiful music, stunning set pieces, wonderful direction, and so much more, creating a spectacular package that held me from beginning to end. If you love a good film epic, this is one that is at least worth trying once.