Audiences are in favor of love stories told in the traditional Hollywood manner: sweeping locales, breathtaking scenery, crisp dialogue, and, more importantly, romantic chemistry between two gorgeous Hollywood stars. We have been privy to sweeping love stories such as "Sense and Sensibility," which was much admired by Hollywood and the Academy Awards, as was "Titanic." In 1996, it was "The English Patient," a flawed yet superbly acted romantic tragedy told mostly in flashbacks, and set prior to World War II. It's "Brief Encounter" crossed with "Lawrence of Arabia" (funny that they were both directed by David Lean). It has romance to spare but, in terms of tragic love, it doesn't have much weight.
"The English Patient" is the Hungarian Count Almasy (Ralph Fiennes), who is on an expedition with a group of cartographers in the blazingly hot desert of North Africa. It is there that he meets and falls in love with Katherine Clifton (Kristin Scott Thomas), the noble, beautiful wife of one of the cartographers. When Katherine's husband leaves for another expedition, the two embark on a passionate love affair, instigated by their bonding in a sandstorm.
Count Almasy is the narrator of the film, telling his story in a deathbed after being horribly burned in a plane crash. He's cared for by his nurse, Hana (Juliette Binoche), who decides to stay in a nearly decrepit castle with this "english patient." The present storyline is set during the last days of World War II, but the Count remains haunted by Katharine's death and by the intrusion of a wandering thief, Caravaggio (Willem Dafoe) - he recognizes the Count and suffers a physical handicap as well.
"The English Patient" is a beautifully mounted film told in the typical Hollywood style - the opening shot of the contours of the desert layered against a plane flying overhead is an extraordinary moment to behold. The movie has all the right ingredients of an old-fashioned Hollywood romance yet it somehow manages to trivialize the crucial romance...between Almasy and Katherine. Their relationship leaves you out in the cold because writer-director Anthony Minghella ("Truly, Madly, Deeply") truncates too many scenes between them. The strong passionate romance is only suggested and, therefore, it misses at becoming an affair we can become involved in and its eventual tragic repercussions. That leaves room for the other supporting characters such as the always grinning Hana, who is completely devoted to Almasy, and falls in love with an Indian soldier, Kip (Naveen Andrews). There's also the thief and morphine addict, Caravaggio, who has a personal vendetta against our scarred hero. This is a character who becomes secondary and trivial when comparing to the overwhelming love stories the movie wants to tell. Caravaggio keeps intruding the narrative.
The relationship between Hana and Kip is sweet and invigorating, and it climaxes with Ella Fitzgerald singing "Cheek to Cheek" on the soundtrack. There's also a moment that is quite intoxicating - it is when Hana observes a bare-chested Kip washing his long, flowing black hair. She is aroused by it, and it is a moment that is as breathtaking as you can imagine - a moment to stop time. There are several scenes like that especially when Hana and Kip elevate themselves with a harness to look at an enormous painting using flares in the darkness. These are precisely the moments missing in the Almasy-Katherine affair.
The love affair between Almasy and Katharine is handled with just as much discretion but it feels wrongfully neglected. The chemistry between Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas crackles with excitement yet the affair is not equally handled as scorchingly - Ralph Fiennes's performance is fine but he projects a cold, detached mood that deemphasizes the love story. As Almasy reminisces in his final days about her, it becomes just that - a reminiscence lacking in substance. We see how much they love each other but we never really see how they become in love with another. It is really only the love affair between Hana and Kip that makes us feel the passion and commitment between two lovers. The late, great director David Lean, who made some of the most enlightening romances of the last thirty years, showed you the passion and the tragic loss of love in its entirety.
"The English Patient" is an exquisite film, and it is beautifully acted by all the principal actors. It certainly makes you see the tragic consequences of their love affair, but it doesn't invite you to share them.
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