The novel and Film

Like many other novels that become films, The English Patient follows suit. They contain small enough differences so as to not change relationships between characters, but they alter the way people are portrayed. Although the novel and film cover most of the same plot lines, the film begins differently along with a few other differences. The greatest difference was the focus of the English Patient. In the film, the focus is more on his past life, and what his history is, while the book refers more to his present health, situation, and relationships with Hana and Caravaggio. Both the film and the novel traverse from past to present and vise versa constantly. In the film, the English Patient is more secretive, not as open about his past, while in the novel, he diverges more information to Hana. The book is a large part of the film, and Hana learns the most about Almásy from it, rather than from him. In the novel, the information Hana gains is straight from the source, Almásy himself, rather from the book full of pasted images and writing. While Caravaggio, Hana, and the English Patient are all complex characters with interconnecting relationships, their complexities and personalities through expression are displayed properly in both the film and the novel.


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