The English Patient Identity Quotes

How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from The English Patient.

Quote #1

SOLDIER: How do you know you're not German, if you don't remember anything?

This line at the very beginning of the movie both illustrates Almásy's shadowy identity, and foreshadows how important his nationality will be at the end of the movie, when he is trying to retrieve Katharine from the Cave of Swimmers.

Quote #2

ALMÁSY: Why are people always so happy when they collide with someone from the same place? What happened in Montreal when you passed a man in the street? Did you invite him to live with you?

Almásy makes an interesting point here, about the way people form alliances and friendships during war, apocalypse, zombie outbreak, etc. Bonding over where you are from is a quick way to form a bridge with another person.

Quote #3

ALMÁSY: Hana thinks you've invented your name.

It's interesting that Hana thinks David Caravaggio invented his name (it is a fishy name!) but she doesn't harbor any suspicion toward her patient, who has no name. Why does Hana have differing opinions on each man?