
The English Patient Page #11
- R
- Year:
- 1996
- 162 min
- 1,485 Views
ALM�SY
#NAME?
Which Mariners called the sea of
darkness. Red sand from this wind
has flown as far as the south coast
of England, producing showers so
dense they were mistaken for blood.
Almasy checks to see if Katharine is still awake.
KATHARINE:
Fiction. We had a house on that coast
and it never rained blood. Go on. More.
ALM�SY
All true. Herodotus, your friend, tells
of a wind - the Simoon - so evil that a
nation declared war on it and marched
out to fight it in full battle dress,
their swords raised.
87*.EXT. THE DESERT. DAY.
MORNING. The sand has almost COMPLETELY ENGULFED the car on the
exposed side, covering the windshield like snow, and encroaching onto
the door of the protected flank.
88*.INT. CAR. DAY.
Alm�sy is woken by sound of A DISTANT ENGINE. He jerks up, waking
Katharine in the process, and heaves against the door. He can't open
it, and has to lean his feet against the passenger door, lying across
Katharine, kicking it open.
89*.EXT. THE DESERT. DAY.
By the time Alm�sy emerges from the car, the sand pouring into the
cabin, MADOX'S CAR IS ROARING ALONG THE HORIZON. Alm�sy waves, shouts,
and then runs back into the car, finds his flare-gun, and SENDS A FLARE
high into the sky. Katharine is with him now, and they watch,
helplessly, as the car bounces away from them, Madox a man on a
mission. Katharine panics, THE SAND HAS ERASED ALL TRACES OF THEM.
She speaks quietly, shocked.
KATHARINE:
Our tracks, where are they?
Alm�sy is preoccupied. He's gone back to their vehicle and returns
with a shovel, STARTS TO DIG FRANTICALLY.
ALM�SY
Madox will have calculated how many
miles, they'll soon turn around.
KATHARINE:
(realizing what he's doing)
Oh my God, the others!
She kneels with him and helps to shovel away the sand WHICH HAS
COMPLETELY ENGULFED THE OTHER VEHICLE containing the three Bedouin.
ALM�SY
(during this)
Could I ask you, please, to paste you
paintings into my book? I should like
to have them. I should be honored.
KATHARINE:
Of course. Is it, am I a terrible
coward to ask how much water we have?
ALM�SY
(shoveling hard)
Water? Yes, we have water, we have
a little in our can, we have water in
the radiator which can be drunk. Not
at all cowardly, extremely practical.
(anxious at not uncovering
the boys, egging himself on)
Come on, come on!
(then back to Katharine)
There's also a plant - I've never seen
it but I'm told you can cut a piece the
size of a heart from this plant and
the next day it will be filled with a
delicious liquid.
KATHARINE:
Find that plant. Cut out its heart.
They hear NOISES, scrabbling, faint thumps. Alm�sy scrapes at the sand
and they find the glass of the car. The angle of the cab, tilted up to
the sky, has made it impossible for the trapped boys to lever it open.
Their oxygen is rapidly deteriorating. Alm�sy pulls the door and it
cranks open.
90*.EXT. THE DESERT. DAY.
Katharine sits in the car, putting her pictures into the Herodotus.
It's full of ALM�SY'S HANDWRITING, PHOTOGRAPHS, SOME PRESSED FLOWERS.
She deciphers a page of his words and drawings. It's almost
exclusively about her, the lines studded with K.s. She reads,
astonished, then looks at him as he and two of the three Bedouin circle
the area of the cars in ever-widening circles, like water-diviners,
like Kip searches for mines. Kamal is slumped against the front of the
car. He's sick. Alm�sy suddenly drops to his knees and begins to
shovel into the sand. He pulls out A CAN OF WATER. Turns to Katharine
and holds it triumphantly in the air.
91*.INT. THE DESERT. NIGHT.
There's a small, weak fire. The group crouch around it. The boys talk
noisily to Alm�sy. Kamal is wrapped in a blanket and shivering.
Alm�sy gives him water, speaks to Katherine.
ALM�SY
Kamal is passing blood. He must have
had some internal damage in the crash.
He needs medicine. I think we must risk
the other flare.
He gets up and loads the flare with what is clearly the last charge.
This time the effect is dramatic with A RED UMBRELLA OF LIGHT.
Katharine comes up beside him. They wait, hope fading with the flare.
KATHARINE:
(blank)
Geoffrey's not in Cairo.
(Alm�sy looks at her)
He's not actually a buffoon. And
the plane wasn't a wedding
present. It belongs to the British
Government. They want aerial
maps of the whole North Africa.
So I think he's in Ethiopia. In
case you were counting on his
sudden appearance.
ALM�SY
And the marriage - is that a fiction?
There's a beat. Katharine has a hundred answers.
KATHARINE:
No, the marriage isn't a fiction.
The light from the flare fades on them and they stand in the dark.
Suddenly on the far horizon, behind their heads, AN ANSWERING FLARE
fireworks into the sky.
KATHARINE:
Thank God. Oh, thank God.
There's excited shouting from the two fit boys. They leap up and run
towards the couple, who meanwhile have realized that the flare has not
come from Madox, but from an approaching CAMEL CARAVAN. Alm�sy shouts
to the boys for some identification.
KATHARINE:
Do they know them?
ALM�SY
(squinting at the horizon)
No, but I think I do.
The Caravan slowly comes into focus. IT'S FENELON-BARNES. Katharine
touches Alm�sy's arm - an almost imperceptible gesture.
KATHARINE:
Am I K. in your book?
I think I must be.
Alm�sy turns to her. He runs the blade of his arm across her neck -
the sweat leaving a clear stripe.
Fenelon-Barnes approaches, dismounts from his camel, and addresses
Alm�sy.
FENELON-BARNES
I recollect your saying to ignore
your bones but I assume you have
no objection to my rescuing your
companion?
(to Katharine)
Good evening, Mrs. Clifton.
KATHARINE:
(accepting his handshake)
Hello.
FENELON-BARNES
I'd like to introduce you to my camel -
the most notable beast on earth.
(to Alm�sy)
I understand you found some
remarkable caves.
A goatskin bag of water is offered to Katharine. She drinks and hands
it to Alm�sy.
FENELON-BARNES
Paintings of swimmers? Remarkable.
92EXT. CAIRO. DAY.
ANOTHER WORLD as a honking TAXI containing Alm�sy and Katharine
negotiates the incredible bustle of Cairo.
93EXT. SHEPHEARD'S HOTEL. DAY.
Alm�sy, still in the same clothes, and evidently weary, emerges from
the cab, and pulls Katharine's belongings from the trunk, then holds
open the door for her. As she walks towards the hotel, he hands her
bag to a porter. Katharine is stung.
KATHARINE:
Will you not come in?
ALM�SY
No.
KATHARINE:
Will you please come in?
ALM�SY
(a beat)
Mrs. Clifton -
Katharine turns, disgusted.
KATHARINE:
Don't.
ALM�SY
I believe you still have my book.
Katharine fishes the book from her knapsack, shoves it at him, then
disappears.
94INT. ALM�SY'S ROOM. DAY.
Alm�sy lying on a camp bed, face down. The walls are covered with
maps, enlargements of photographs. A fan whirs over his kit which is
spread, unraveled but ordered, on the stone floor. An ineffably male
room, the shutters closed, just the thinnest shaft of light piercing
the gloom. Alm�sy hasn't even removed his clothes, his boots kicked
Translation
Translate and read this script in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The English Patient" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 16 Mar. 2025. <https://www.scripts.com/script/the_english_patient_853>.
Discuss this script with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In