Romance, drama and adventure

Rating: 7/10 (12 March 2014)

Remember the Seinfeld episode wherein Elaine Benes proclaimed how lousy and slow this movie was? ("Why don't you just diiieee!") Well, that was enough to prevent me from seeing "The English Patient," until recently, that is. I finally decided to kick back and watch the film to see for myself if it was as bad as Elaine said it was (or as good as so many others contended).
First of all, the film isn't nearly as long as rumored; it's only two hours and twenty minutes (not including the end credits). Compare that to, say, "Titanic" which is almost an hour longer or "Lawrence of Arabia" which is an hour and a half longer.
Secondly, as long as one is psychologically prepared to see a drama/adventure flick and not an action film, the story sustains interest quite well. Some sequences are slow, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Needless to say, if you're a big fan of "Armageddon" -- essentially a two and a half hour trailer with its never-ending quick (and irritating) edits -- you will not like this flick.
One might criticize the ignoble and unfaithful character of the lead players. While this is understandable, I don't feel the movie justifies or glorifies their actions -- it's simply a story about REAL people with REAL flaws who make REAL mistakes (just like you and me) and must suffer the consequences. And suffer they do. Besides, there are some highly likable and noble characters in the cast, like Kip and Hana.
In light of the criticism of how long and boring this flick is, I was delighted to discover quite a few scenes filled with suspense, action and high-adventure. For example, the plane crash scene (the second one), the desert storm sequence, the bomb-about-to-explode episode and the fight-to-the-death in the train scene, just to name a few.
As many reviewers note, the desert cinematography is marvelous; in fact, the movie is worth seeing for this alone.
BOTTOM LINE: "The English Patient" has elements of "Lawrence of Arabia," "The Bridges of Madison County" and "A Passage to India;" if you're a fan of the style, pace and realism of these movies then "The English Patient" is for you.
GRADE: B+