Back to the Days of Great Love Stories

Rating: 10/10 (26 February 2003)

The English Patient (1996)
Back to the days of great love stories
Rare are love stories related in such a dispassionate tone, relying totally on the power of the story itself. Now I have not read the book, and I am sure that the success of the film is due partly to the book. But the visual input and the creation of moods bring out the beauty and the tragedy of the story marvellously. I thought that with the demise of David Lean the days of big movies that could haunt the viewer days or weeks afterwards were over; but thanks to Anthony Minghella, we can look forward to glory days ahead.
One cannot talk about The English Patient without talking about Gabriel Yared's beautiful score. Again I am reminded of Lean's Doctor Zhivago that owed much to Maurice Jarre's score. Minghella really knows what to concentrate on to get the maximum effect on the viewer.
The final message, however goes beyond a tragic love story. The futility of war, hollowness of personal enmity, and the beauty of love are all drilled in with quiet vigour. After all, nine Oscars are not too much for such a masterpiece. I am compelled to give 10 out of 10!
By the way, it makes me happy to note that Michael Ondatje, the writer, is a Sri Lankan born Canadian.