Too much going on...collapses from the weight of too many plots unfolding at the same time...

Rating: Null/10 (9 June 2001)

THE ENGLISH PATIENT was eagerly anticipated when I rented the video. It had just won nine Academy Awards and I knew I was in for something special.
WRONG. In the past, moviemakers used flashback techniques in a way that was not confusing. You always knew you were watching a flashback. Not so in The English Patient. In fact, you seldom know whether you are in the past or present, the blurring of the time span is so confusing. No wonder several commentators have said they had to watch it a second or third time to sort out the pieces of this gigantic puzzle. I can endure no such punishment.
Technically, the film is brilliant and so are the performances--they can't be faulted. But to spend three hours waiting for all of the loose ends to come together for an unspectacular climax is just too much. What I resent most about the film is the irritating story structure which makes viewing it a sheer test of patience and endurance.
Not a film I'm ever likely to view again! If I had to vote for a film I felt didn't deserve an Oscar, this one would be at the head of the list. Should have killed off the flashback technique for good for future filmmakers.