The eponymous protagonist, a manburned beyond recognition who speaks with anEnglish accent, recalls his history in a series of flashbacks, revealing to the audience his true identity and the love affair in which he was involved before the war. The film ends with a definitive onscreen statement that it is a highly fictionalized account ofLászló Almásy (died 1951) and other historical figures and events. The film received widespread critical acclaim and emerged as a major commercial success at the box-office.
When a nurse friend is killed in front of her, Hana decides that she is a curse to her loved ones. She gains permission to settle in a bombed-out monastery with her patient, as he is suffering during their hospital unit's relocation.
Lieutenant Kip, aSikhsapper in theBritish Indian Army posted with Sergeant Hardy to clear German mines and booby traps, joins them. David Caravaggio, aCanadian Intelligence Corps operative who was tortured during a German interrogation, also arrives there. He questions the patient, who gradually reveals his past. Over the days of the patient relating his story, Hana and Kip begin a love affair.
In the late 1930s, Hungarian cartographerLászló Almásy is exploring a region of the Sahara as part of aRoyal Geographical Society archeological and surveying expedition group, which includes his good friend Englishman Peter Madox, and British couple Geoffrey and Katharine Clifton, who provide aerial surveys using their plane.
Almásy discovers through a Bedouin the location of the ancientCave of Swimmers, containing cave paintings. As the group documents their findings, Almásy and Katharine fall in love. He writes about her in notes folded into his book, which she discovers when he awkwardly accepts two watercolours of the cave walls and asks her to paste them into the book.
Upon returning to Cairo, they begin an affair, while the group arranges for more detailed archaeological surveys of the cave and the surrounding area. Almásy buys her a silver thimble as a gift. Geoffrey secretly watches her from his car and realizes that she is cheating. Months later, Katharine breaks things off, fearing the repercussions from Geoffrey. The archaeological projects are then halted due to the onset of the war. Madox leaves hisTiger Moth airplane atKufra Oasis before his return to Britain.
Caravaggio now seeks revenge for his injuries, so far killing the German interrogator who had his thumbs cut off and the spy who identified him but now seeks whoever provided maps to the Germans, allowing them to infiltrate Cairo. He suspects Almásy, asking "Did you kill the Cliftons?", to which Almásy concedes "Maybe ... I did".
Almásy tells Caravaggio, with Hana listening nearby, about packing campin 1941 when Geoffrey arrives in the biplane. He aims at Almásy, who jumps out of the way, and crashes. Almásy finds Geoffrey dead at the controls and Katharine badly injured in the front seat. It was an attempted double murder-suicide, as he uncovered their affair. Almásy carries Katharine to the Cave of Swimmers and observes that she is still wearing the thimble that he had given her as a gift on a chain. She declares that she has always loved him.
Leaving her there with provisions and his book, Almásy walks three days across the desert. At British-heldEl Tag, he explains her desperate situation and asks for help, but a young officer detains him on suspicion of being a spy. Transported away by train, Almásy escapes and eventually comes across a German army unit. They take him to the Kufra Oasis, where Madox has hidden his plane. Exchanging maps for fuel, Almásy flies to the cave and finds Katharine dead. Taking her on the plane, they are burned when shot down. After hearing the story, Caravaggio gives up his quest for revenge.
Kip is reposted once he has cleared the explosives; he and Hana agree that they will meet again. Later, Almásy tells her that he has had enough by pushing vials of morphine towards her. Though distraught, Hana grants his wish, administering the lethal dose. As he drifts to sleep, she reads him Katharine's final letter, written while alone in the cave. The next morning, Hana goes with Caravaggio to Florence, holding Almásy's book tightly as they ride away.
Triumph 3HW 350cc motorcycle specified in the novel as Kip's choice of transport and used in the film
Saul Zaentz was interested in working withAnthony Minghella after he saw the director's filmTruly, Madly, Deeply (1990); Minghella brought this project to the producer's attention.Michael Ondaatje, theSri Lankan-bornCanadian author of thenovel, worked closely with the filmmakers.[13] According to Minghella, during the development of the project with20th Century Fox, the "studio wanted the insurance policy of so-called bigger" actors.[14] Zaentz recalled, "they'd look at you and say, 'Could we castDemi Moore in the role'?"[15] After months of disputes with Fox, the studio pulled out just three weeks before production was to begin andHarvey Weinstein came in and acquired worldwide rights forMiramax Films for $27.5 million.[8][14] After Miramax became involved, the director's preference forScott Thomas in the role of Katharine was honored.[14] To help the film get made, cast and crew agreed to salarydeferrals totalling $10 million and Zaentz met the remainder of the production costs. Including the deferred costs,Variety reported the production costs at $43 million. The deferments were due to be paid after the film broke even, however, although the actors received a deferred payment of $5 million, after over three years after release, others were still waiting for their deferred salaries, subject to an audit of the figures.[8] Zaentz sued Miramax Films in 2006 claiming $20 million but the case was still unresolved when Zaentz died in 2014.[16][17]
The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film[21] by Michael Ondaatje is based on the conversations between the author and film editor.Murch, with a career that already included such complex works asthe Godfather trilogy,The Conversation, andApocalypse Now, dreaded the task of editing the film with multiple flashbacks and time frames. Once he began, the possibilities became apparent, some of which took him away from the order of the original script. A reel without sound was made so scene change visuals would be consistent with the quality of the aural aspect between the two. The final cut features over 40 temporal transitions. It was during this time that Murch met Ondaatje and they were able to exchange thoughts about editing the film.[22]
The English Patient received widespread critical acclaim, and emerged as a major commercial success at the box-office, and received nineAcademy Awards, sixBAFTA awards, and twoGolden Globe Awards.
Janet Maslin ofThe New York Times called the movie "a stunning feat of literary adaptation as well as a purely cinematic triumph".[25] InThe New Yorker,Anthony Lane argues that "the triumph of the film lies not just in the force and the range of the performances—the crisp sweetness of Scott Thomas, say, versus the raw volatility of Binoche—but in Minghella's creation of an intimate epic: vast landscapes mingle with the minute details of desire, and the combination is transfixing".[26]
The film has a rating of 86% onRotten Tomatoes based on 91 reviews, with an average of 7.90/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Though it suffers from excessive length and ambition, director Minghella's adaptation of the Michael Ondaatje novel is complex, powerful, and moving."[27] The film also has a rating of 87/100 onMetacritic, based on 31 critical reviews.[28]Chicago Sun Times criticRoger Ebert gave the film a four-star rating, saying "it's the kind of movie you can see twice – first for the questions, the second time for the answers".[29] In his movie guide,Leonard Maltin rated the film3+1⁄2 out of 4, calling it "a mesmerizing adaptation" of Ondaatje's novel, saying "Fiennes and Scott Thomas are perfectly matched", and he concluded by calling the film "an exceptional achievement all around".[30] In 2021,The Boston Globe called the movie a "masterpiece" in a 25-year anniversary review.[31]
Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A−" on a scale of A+ to F.[32]
It became the highest-grossing film in the history of Miramax with a worldwide gross of $232 million.[33][6]
The film is referred to in theSeinfeld episode "The English Patient", where the characterElaine is shunned by her friends and co-workers for disliking the film.[34]
Blakesley, David (2007). "Mapping the other:The English Patient, colonial rhetoric, and cinematic representation".The Terministic Screen: Rhetorical Perspectives on Film. Southern Illinois University Press.ISBN978-0-8093-2488-0.
Thomas, Bronwen (2000). "Piecing together a mirage: AdaptingThe English patient for the screen". In Giddings, Robert; Sheen, Erica (eds.).The Classic Novel from Page to Screen. Manchester University Press.ISBN0-7190-5230-0.
