Movie Description: At the close of WWII, a young nurse tends to a badly-burned plane crash victim. His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair.
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Kristin Scott Thomas, Naveen Andrews, and Colin Firth
Directed By: Anthony Minghella
My Thoughts: I’ve been sitting here for about 15 minutes staring at the laptop screen trying to think of what I should/need to write here.
Like The Last Emperor I went into viewing The English Patient expecting it to be a huge labor to watch all the way though. I had seen (or seen most of) The English Patient many many years ago when I was still a teenager, and the three things I remembered about it were it had an airplane, there was a scene that took place in a cave, and it was super duper boring.
I’m happy to report The English Patient wasn’t as boring as I remembered. That being said, it was still very boring.
I think I understand the romance story much more now that I’m older, but I never really felt the romance between the two main characters. I can’t help thinking how much this movie and their romance could benefit from a beautiful piece of reoccurring theme music added to the film. I know this thought makes it seem like I can’t recognize love on screen unless there’s a music cue to tip me off, but I remain a firm believer that a good piece of music can sell anything. Especially love.
I guess the acting was good, I know Juliette Binoche won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role, so that has to mean something.
All in all, The English Patient was okay. In my opinion it wasn’t really bad, it wasn’t really good, it just didn’t make me feel anything. And that makes it okay.
Which leads to…
Should This Movie Have The Academy Award For Best Picture?: Let’s look at the other Best Picture Nominees for 1996…there’s Shine (which was good but forgettable), Secrets & Lies (which I doubt anyone has watched since 1996), Jerry Maguire (which is a classic), and Fargo (which is a ultra classic).
Jerry Maguire and Fargo are excellent films…memorable films…films that you can watch any time. They make you feels something and they entertain you. I know no one who watches The English Patient on a whim. I kinda get the feeling no one watches The English Patient unless they have to write a book report on the the novel.
So “No”, The English Patient should not have won The Academy Award for Best Picture in 1996. That honor should have gone to either Jerry Maguire or Fargo.*
*I’d have voted for Fargo.
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