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The English Patient (1996): Film vs Book
Film · 1996 · Directed by Anthony Minghella · Starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Kristin Scott Thomas
About the film
Four people meet in an Italian villa at the end of the war, each carrying a different past.
How close is it to the book?
Close to the bookThe film rearranges the book's time order and puts more weight on the central love affair.
Read or watch first?
The novel is more poetic and spreads its attention more evenly.
What the book gives you
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
Beautiful, immersive writing and four people in an old villa whose stories gradually open up.
Who will like it: Readers who enjoy lyrical, atmospheric novels of love and memory set in wartime.