Rating: 
Summary: The Emperor's New Clothes incarnate
Review: I'm still not sure why so many people found this movie entertaining. Maybe because they felt they were supposed to. That's not good enough for me. Let me see what we have to work with here: A ... sympathizer whose affair with a married woman results, ultimately, in the death of himself, the woman, AND her poor sap of a husband. Did I miss anyone? Oh yes, I surely did. The cast of completely pointless characters: The man who lost his thumbs thanks to our hero. The Nurse and her Friend, whose relationship have absolutely nothing to do with the plot except to perhaps take up an extra hour and a half of air time. So am I shedding any tears for ANY of these poeple? Hardly. Still, completely useless and/or unsympatheic characters can be forgiven as long as the plot is not pretentious, utterly obvious and heavily relying on cinematography. This was not a deep plot, people. Your basic love triangle with a few beautiful, yet unnecessary people thrown in for eye candy. If a movie is going to waste three hours to develop a plot, it should at least keep us guessing past the first 20 minutes of the story. What a collossal waste of time.
Rating: 
Summary: My favorite movie of all time
Review: This is, by far, the best movie that Hollywood has produced since, possibly, "The Godfather." I know that I sound snobby saying this--but here goes: "The English Patient" is a movie that will be greatly admired by book lovers and intellectuals(I am the former), but not by those who like movies with car chases and strip club scenes. It is a complex movie that slowly reveals itself. The story line, the cinematography, the acting, the love affair--all are top notch.It is a spellbinding movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for everyone, but what on this earth is?
Review: This film is certainly vulnerable to attacks on its length and pace; but if you sit back and accept that it's not "Top Gun" or "Die Hard" (which do have their own merits), you'll be treated to a rich, complex, mature story with fine, fine performances by Fiennes, Binoche and Dafoe. (Kristen Scott Thomas is good, but it seemed to me that much of the quality of her performance was simply indebted to her "classic" loveliness.) The desert cinematography is stark, sweeping and captivating, while the lush, exotic score subtlely heightens each scene. As for the pace, while the beginning does plod a bit and demands careful attention to the dialogue for plot-building details, the ascent to the climax has more than its share of engaging moments. And speaking of . . . yes, the climax is undoubtedly vulnerable to the "tear-jerker" label. The difference here, though, is that it does not appear contrived or cliched; and it shouldn't, since the plot lays the groundwork for it well and since, in all honesty, while the ending is foreshadowed, it was one of the very few that has surprised and haunted me. In sum, like its characters, TEP is imperfect (e.g., like the Bridges of Madison County--but not to that extent--it rhapsodizes adultery); but it also shows elegantly and powerfully that the human condition, made brittle and vulnerable by our conflicts and unchecked desires, is at once breathtakingly beautiful and heart-wrenchingly sad. Well done and well worth watching (more than once).
Rating:
Summary: yet another reviewer that did not like it!
Review: I'm not going into the English Patient X Fargo,Secrets and Lies discussion(among others,such as Shine),we have enough reviews talking about that(though i think that any of these films deserved the oscar for best-picture,instead of The English "Patience") but this has to be the most overrating movie!! when i went to see this movie,i was expecting something better,i mean,all that awards,and that cast(i like Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche!!yeah!)but what i saw was a boring film,totally a let down.I did not like the main characters(the only one i liked was the nurse,the she is much more likeable than the main character),i did not like their "love story"(?)(such a nice "love story",ins't it?!:she had no reason to cheat on her husband,then suddenly she gets "full of lust" for the attractive Lazlo, a friend of her husband,who happens to feel the same "desire" for her,hmmm....)and i have the feeling,in my humble opinion,that most of the people liked it,because of the "tragic,tear-jerking ending"(just my humble opinion,as i said before).No,I don't like "hollywood garbage",as some people might say because i don't like this movie.But i hate this movie,sorry folks...
Rating:
Summary: Worst film ever to win Best Picture
Review: I'm with Elaine from "Seinfeld" in that I can't fathom the popularity or the acclaim heaped upon "The English Patient." It is a long, boring, and ultimately implausible waste of time. A couple of points need to be made here. One, do you think that the allies would have allowed a nurse and and an ulimited supply of drugs to stay with a single patient during the scarcity of wartime? Two, the central love story that is supposed to be so poiniant ignores the fact that Kristen Scott Thomas's husband, who she cheats on with Ralph Feinnes, is actually a decent and likeably guy. So right there I was inclined to dislike the two heroes and their love story. Three, the sideplot with the nurse and the Indian solider is absolutely superflous. And how can any war film be an epic without a single major battle scene? Bottom line, "The English Patient" is the most overrated and overhyped "serious" film of the last decade. Better had the Best Picture Oscar gone to a piece of junk like "Independence Day" which at least made no claim to being taken seriously.
Rating: 
Summary: Nihilist Elite
Review: This movie reminds me of the "Ciderhouse Rules", in that it is a vehicle for the Contempory wisdom of our time, the unsanctity of life (abortion, and mercy killing). The end of the movie features euthanasia; and defends the mercy killing with the rationale of the entire previous juxtaposed amoral plot. ...Ralph Fiennes charactor is the anti-hero, binal, and unredeemed - he struggles not for any good but his own pleasure in the present. One wonders if the author of the novel was tring to take the double strandard of Occidental morality and throw it in the West's cultural face? I got this movie by accident at the Video store. I was all set to get "The Bridge on the River Kui". Instead, I got The English Patient, as liking Ralph Fiennes in "A Dangerous Man". I should have stayed with the David Lean film. At least it had moral fiber...
Rating:
Summary: The most BOOOOOOORING Epic I have ever seen!
Review: I hate to do this to a Best Picture Oscar Winner, but I must: People, do yourselves a favor and pass on this turkey! A bombardment of plot with endless scenes to put even Joan Rivers to sleep. Add to this a heeping dirt-shovel of gratuitous sex and sappy wanna-be "drama", and you get "The English Patient". I do deserve a cookie for sitting through this whooooole thing. Watch a golf match or a dog show or something, but there has to be better use for 3 hours of free time!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best movies I have ever seen
Review: This movie is definitely haunting but each time I have watched it I have come away with a good feeling because the movie is so beautiful. It always makes me appreciate the simple beauty in the world especially having to do with facets of love and loss. Some say this movie is too long. They remind me of the critics that claimed Mozart's music had too many notes. Drop anything and the movie would lose its balance. The characters are complex and nothing is overdone. The scenery and cinematography is stunning. I agree with the other reviewers - if you don't like this movie, you just don't get it. It is a thoughtful movie that moves at the perfect pace to follow the story as you think about the situations in your mind. Ralph Fienes is perfect in his role as he faces the many Catch 22's about his work, the war, and his love. Watch this movie on DVD on a big screen TV hooked up to stereo speakers and spend 2+ hours in another world and another time and be the better for it.
Rating:
Summary: The Patient English
Review: This isn't exactly entertaining, but there's so many brain-dead movies out there, that I'm glad movies like these are made. A worthwhile 3 hours for the literary-minded.
Rating:
Summary: The English Patience
Review: Having won Best Picture, I am perplexed this film has suffered as much critism as it has. In a list of the "best" of all of the best pictures winners, "The English Patient" was ranked surprisingly low, ranking way behind "Dances With Wolves" and a slew of other recent award winners. This movie has even been called overrated. I found it to be a beautiful and complex story of forbidden love and the consequences of giving into temptation. The message is buried deep within a textured plot, and at the end it is revealed in a dark cave, love waiting.... The price he paid can be seen on his face, The English Patient and all of his mystery are unearthed from his bedside candor. I found the story most intriguing, the characters played to perfection. Kristin Scott Thomas (Under the Cherry Moon), does a splendid job playing oppostite Ralph Fiennes. The love scene between the two was intoxicating, sweeping you out of wherever you are and into the deserts of Africa! all set to a brilliant score. There is so much in this film to enjoy, the slow pace was just fine with me, giving you more time to dissapear in the film. The English Patient is an epic, and I'm glad it won the best picture, I actually agree with the academy and it's too late to take the oscar back!!!!
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