Review of The English Patient (1996) by Seb M — 13 Nov 2011

This is one of those films in which at the beginning, you have no idea what's going on, but as the movie progresses and the pieces start to fall into place you start to become captivated and by the end you're in tears. I don't know exactly how many movies fit into that category, but this is definitely one of them. It irks me when a movie has regular flashbacks without putting up the timeline as a subtitle. It's as if filmakers think they're lowering their movie's IQ by telling us when each scene is set. It doesn't actually take any time to put the date at the bottom of the screen and it makes the film more enjoyable for everyone.

Well now I've got that off my chest. The story is a very compelling one in which a World War II soldier is being nursed in a villa in Italy after a horrible plane crash leaves him badly burned and with a fractured memory. As different characters try to reconstruct his past, we are taken through several flashbacks which tell the story of before his crash, which is even more compelling - He falls in love with a married woman who eventually returns his feelings. As their love progresses and blossoms in secret, it takes a toll on not only the woman's marriage but their surrounding friendships and even their country. The parallel story lines eventually hook you in and keep you there until you're so emotionally involved with the main characters that you don't ever want them to go.

See this film.