Playing to the gallery
Sir: With reference to Frederick Forsyth's article ('Impatient with The English Patient', 29 March) and Adrian Scrope's ill-tem- pered reply (Letters, 12 April), no one has yet commented on the film's cynical pan- dering to political correctness and defer- ence to American prejudices. One can imagine the author and/or scriptwriter sit- ting at their word processors thinking along the following lines.
'Let's have some Nazi atrocities.' So Car- avaggio is tortured by the Africa Korps, a force which actually fought a very clean war.
'Let's have some anti-colonialist propa- ganda.' So the Sikh officer trots out that nonsense about Indian villagers' posses- sions being melted down to make British guns.
'The Americans don't like double- barrelled surnames.' So, in the credits, Miss Scott-Thomas loses her hyphen.
'Let's have some mixed-race nookie.' So the Canadian nurse leaps casually into bed with the Sikh (very unlikely in the Forties). However, because the Americans are still squeamish about mixed-race sex, the action is off-screen, so it is doubly hypocritical.
This blatant playing to the politically cor- rect and American galleries, plus the numerous medical, military and logistical absurdities of the story, made it impossible to relax and enjoy the excellent acting, pho- tography and musical background. Long before the film ended, I was glancing at my wristwatch and thinking, 'When on earth are we going to get to the point?'
P.L. Pindar
`Applegarth', 115 Greenhill Road, Winchester, Hampshire
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