Just because a movie wins a slew of Academy Awards doesn’t necessarily mean the movie is truly outstanding – and will be remembered by people forever. But sometimes a very special case occurs: although the Oscar rain is justified, some films disappear into oblivion again without justification. “The English patient“, which can now be streamed on Netflix, is a good example of this.
At the 1997 Oscars, Anthony Minghella’s heartfelt and visually stunning epic (“On the Road to Cold Mountain”) took home nine (!) golden boys, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress. Sadly, hardly anyone talks about the film these days – and the fact that it actually won nine Oscars seems to have been largely forgotten.
Wrongly! Because for us, ‘The English Patient’ is one of the best films of all time. The official FILMSTARTS review gave it the absolute highest rating of 5 out of 5 possible stars. Our author Ulrich Behrens writes in his review: “The images show extreme contrast and unity at the same time. These images serve the story, and not the other way around – a classic, tragic story that is closer to Greek drama than to any modern love drama.”
That’s what “The English Patient” is about
Egypt, shortly before World War II: Hungarian Count Laszlo Almasy (Ralph Fiennes) explores the desert as a member of England’s Royal Geographic Society to create maps for research projects. When German army units seriously wound him, he is cared for by French Red Cross nurse Hanna (Juliette Binoche).
Hanna decides to care for Almasy in peace and settles with him in a destroyed monastery in Tuscany. They are joined by two good friends from the British Army who are experts in defusing bombs. Eventually, the mysterious Caravaggio (Willem Dafoe) appears in the ruins and treats Almasy with suspicion – Hanna will soon find out why…