The English Patient
The English Patient, released in 1996, is that rare thing an intellectually demanding film that was a huge commercial success. It also dominated the Oscars for its year with nine wins (and three other nominations) including the Best Picture award, a fine filling in the doughy sandwich of Braveheart which preceded it and Titanic the following year.
Anthony Minghella – whose premature death was a sad blow to British cinema - scripted and directed the film, getting the best from an extremely talented cast that included Ralph Fiennes , Kristin Scott Thomas , Naveen Andrews and Colin Firth . Juliette Binoche won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award as Hana; and for once it was easy to understand the choice of Best Film Editing Oscar given the complex shifts between times and locations entailed in the story.
For all its complexity The English Patient boils down to a story – or stories – of love, its irresistible power and the fear and consequences of its loss, though other plotlines provide structure. It is a visually beautiful film, John Seale capturing the glory of the desert (whose vastness contrasts so forcefully with the eventual physical confinement of the eponymous patient) winning him the Best Cinematography Oscar.
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