The English Patient (1996)

“Betrayals in war are childlike compared with our betrayals during peace.” – Hana

Number of Times Seen – at least 5 (Theater, DVD, 30 Jun 2013)

Brief Synopsis – A man severely burnt in a plane crash prior to WWII recalls in flashback his love affair that led to his tragedy.

My Take on it – I have very fond memories of this movie. I saw it in the theater with my then-girlfriend and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I, unlike Elaine Benes, very much like Epic movies even if they might sometimes seem a big long winded.  When a movie is longer, it usually gives us more of a peek into the lives of the characters. Watching a movie takes patience and sometimes it takes longer for the storyteller to help us get to know the characters better. This is one of the reason why I usually enjoy the longer Director’s cut of movies. Dances With Wolves (1990) and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy were all better at 4

This movie is a perfect example of that notion. This movie is close to 3 hours, but it really transports us to WWII Italy and pre-WWII Africa. Minghella’s original cut was over 4 hours and I would love to see it one day.

Ralph Fiennes, Kirstin Scott Thomas, Juliette Binoche and Willem Dafoe are all great as the leads.

Winner of 9 Oscars of 12 (Picture, Supporting Actress (Binoche), Director, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Music and Sound). It lost Best Actor (Fiennes), Best Actress (Scott Thomas) and Adapted Screenplay.

Bottom Line – Great love story set on the eve of WWII.  Highly recommended!

Rating – Oscar Worthy