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Shot in Tunisia, The English Patient Earns Oscar Nomination for Best Picture
Tunis-- 15 Feb 1997
The English Patient, major cinematographic event of the year, was shot largely in Tunisia. Since its release last November, the movie has drawn massive crowds, become a cult film for some, and just been nominated for 12 Academy Awards including Best Picture.
The Tunisian location included the most dazzling scenes of beautiful interiors, exotic bazaars, and the breathtaking landscape of the Sahara desert. The surroundings of Tozeur in southern Tunisia provided a rich variety of desert landscapes such as lush oases, rolling sand-dunes, fascinating desert canyons, and mysterious troglodyte caves. The gorgeous, mystical, forbidding Sahara is crucial on many counts: in themes, atmosphere, mood, and sheer visual beauty. Space undoubtedly contributes to the movie's success.
"Image is the ammunition of film" said director Anthony Minghella. For production designer Stuart Craig, "the Sahara in Tunisia was just right: the color and quality of the sand, the light beige granules of the Sahara there that are so distinctive and recognizable, that kind of Lawrence of Arabia desert, is what we needed."
Actress Kristin Scott Thomas thought the desert location enhanced the scripted sexual tension: "The desert is so incredibly sensual. When you walk, you can feel each step, all your muscles are working. It's terrific for concentration because it's so quiet you can't hear anything apart from the wind in people's clothes. All you can hear is the shirt on the skin."Film critics called The English Patient a "masterpiece," a "ravishing piece of cinema," and were prompt at pointing to the "grandeur of the geography" and the "mesmeric context" of the Sahara desert, and to its "gorgeous images" conveying and hightening mystery and sensuality.
Fascination with the setting of the movie was such that many people called the Tunisian Information Office in Washington, DC asking for information on Tunisia.
They all said that the beauty of the scenes has induced in them a special desire to visit the country.Tunisia was the location of many European and American movies, most notably Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark.