The English Patient
On the face of it 'The English Patient' has all the ingredients of being a regular Hollywood epic - a doomed love story in the backdrop of war, mysterious characters, grandeur etc etc. But that's just on the face of it! The best thing about this movie is that every time one sees it, the interpretation of the story and the characters can take a whole new meaning all together...just like a desert everything in the story is layered and unravelling the beauty of it is not just challenging but also leaves one with an unforgettable cinematic experience...
The focus and backbone of the story are its main characters - Almasy, Hana, Caravaggio, Kip, Katherine and yes, the desert...no other movie in my recollection has shot the desert so beautifully...it speaks its own language, has its own moods and there are times in the movie when the story of Almasy and Katherine seems to be the backdrop! Though the title character of the English patient is definitely one of the most intriguing and attractive to have come on screen but its the other characters that make the movie what it is...the lost innocence of Hana,the scars she carries...the strength and loneliness of Kip...the anger of Caravaggio...the restless and passionate spirit of Katherine...incidentally, I once came across this analysis of these characters from the point of view of psychology and its a very interesting read, even if one doesn't like the book/movie!
Surprisingly, there is marked difference between the book and the movie...of course, the theme and the incidents have been liberally adapted from the book but many things like the sequence of events, the dialogues, certain subplots have been modified...and for once the movie comes out to be better than the book (maybe its because I saw and loved the movie before I read the book!)...some of the major changes are - Katherine is much younger than Almasy, Hana and Caravaggio have known each other for a long time, Kip's character has been much more explored and delved into in the book and many scenes in the movie never take place in the book! I guess, Hollywood has to succumb to the 'pressure' of making a successful movie...hence, after watching the movie what remains behind in one's mind and heart is only the tragic love story...which is both good and bad...good because it indeed has been shot and written exquisitely and bad because the other equally powerful storylines get sidelined...
One of the best things about the movie is the way many scenes and plots have been conceived, conceptualized and executed...the scene in which Almasy asks Clifton whether its a good idea to leave his wife in the desert and then he turns back to see Katherine looking at him from a distance...even though their faces are not shown in this scene but it still says so much...as does the movement of Katherine's hand on the window of the jeep she and Almasy are trapped in during the sandstorm...Almasy's hatred for ownership and how inevitably he himself becomes a victim of it...the bond between Kip and Hana which is just so pure...the poetry, the background score, the aesthetically picturised love making scenes (which are one of the most passionate ones I have ever seen!) and the feeling of helplessness with which everyone becomes a cause and a victim of their own world falling apart...
One can't write about this movie and not mention the actors! Not one of them lets the viewers down! No one could have played the introspective, detached and lonely role of Almasy better than Ralph Fiennes and it doesn't hurt that he is so sexy! Kristen Scott Thomas looks a tad old for her role but totally makes up for it by her acting...as do Juliette Binoche, Naveen Andrews and Willem Dafoe! Just one complaint - I definitely want to see the talented Colin Firth in a happier role once!
"The essence of cinema is editing. It's the combination of what can be extraordinary images of people during emotional moments, or images in a general sense, put together in a kind of alchemy."
-Francis Ford Coppola
Surprisingly, there is marked difference between the book and the movie...of course, the theme and the incidents have been liberally adapted from the book but many things like the sequence of events, the dialogues, certain subplots have been modified...and for once the movie comes out to be better than the book (maybe its because I saw and loved the movie before I read the book!)...some of the major changes are - Katherine is much younger than Almasy, Hana and Caravaggio have known each other for a long time, Kip's character has been much more explored and delved into in the book and many scenes in the movie never take place in the book! I guess, Hollywood has to succumb to the 'pressure' of making a successful movie...hence, after watching the movie what remains behind in one's mind and heart is only the tragic love story...which is both good and bad...good because it indeed has been shot and written exquisitely and bad because the other equally powerful storylines get sidelined...
One of the best things about the movie is the way many scenes and plots have been conceived, conceptualized and executed...the scene in which Almasy asks Clifton whether its a good idea to leave his wife in the desert and then he turns back to see Katherine looking at him from a distance...even though their faces are not shown in this scene but it still says so much...as does the movement of Katherine's hand on the window of the jeep she and Almasy are trapped in during the sandstorm...Almasy's hatred for ownership and how inevitably he himself becomes a victim of it...the bond between Kip and Hana which is just so pure...the poetry, the background score, the aesthetically picturised love making scenes (which are one of the most passionate ones I have ever seen!) and the feeling of helplessness with which everyone becomes a cause and a victim of their own world falling apart...
One can't write about this movie and not mention the actors! Not one of them lets the viewers down! No one could have played the introspective, detached and lonely role of Almasy better than Ralph Fiennes and it doesn't hurt that he is so sexy! Kristen Scott Thomas looks a tad old for her role but totally makes up for it by her acting...as do Juliette Binoche, Naveen Andrews and Willem Dafoe! Just one complaint - I definitely want to see the talented Colin Firth in a happier role once!
"The essence of cinema is editing. It's the combination of what can be extraordinary images of people during emotional moments, or images in a general sense, put together in a kind of alchemy."
-Francis Ford Coppola
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