i have hear an awful lot about the english patient and i finally decide to get the cd and find out what all the ballyhoo be about . what i find out be a cinematic delight and should and i repeat hould always be watch with an open mind . if you be a religious and moral zealot and i be afraid this be not a film for you a you will fail to see the beauty of this cinematic masterpiece a you will keep on harp on the moral dilemma this film create . a i remember correctly before i watch this film i read the review in this site and be thoroughly disgust by the view of that person who i quote say that the protagonist thoroughly deserve what they get . when it come to morality i agree with him but this be not the way to comment on a film of this magnificence . i must admit rarely have i see such a wonderfully craft film . i keep on hear the background soundtrack in my subconscious . first and foremost this be a love story and yes it an extramarital affair ( moralist beware ) but let not keep focus on that . instead let focus on how the story be tell . it an admixture of flashback and the present . it set in the world war ii and tell u the story of a survivor of a plane crash ( count almazhy play wonderfully by ralph fiennes ) who be look after by an army nurse ( juliet binoche ) in war torn italy just before the beginning of the end ( defeat of the axis power ) . the burn scar patient very much in pain keep on remember the torrid affair he have with an english woman katherine ( kristin scott thomas ) show in flashback set in pre war africa . the past and the present be interweave so adroitly in the story that youre sort of transport in the story and get the feel of a first hand viewer . the locale in the desert and in italy be beautiful and so be the character . i be a romantic and be not ashamed to say i have tear after it end . watch it with someone you truly love . the movie start and end with the same shot of the desert where the sand dune twist and curve like a woman body and it be breathtaking . the sense of loss and grief be convey so overwhelmingly by the actor that it make me wonder why god . why do we have war that destroy beauty and the most unforgivable of all and the destruction of innocence . anyway it deservedly win a bunch of oscar and i will go hunt for other work of director anthony minghella . it kind of brings back the romanticism in the david lean genre of film . it almost remind me of lawrence of arabia which be also base in the desert . happy view folk .