Films of this ilk can often leaver a viewer cold, it’s award-baiting laid bare, leaving a bad taste that stops you from truly immersing yourself in the story. Minghella’s own “Cold Mountain” is a case in point. But here we have a film that may well have suffered some backlash since it swept the awards due to attempts to mimic its success. Yet, this is a film that remains utterly enthralling throughout. The structure of the story, told in flashbacks, adds an air of mystery as to who exactly the titular patient is and how he became horribly burnt. But it is the performances of Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas that form the centrepiece of a beautifully compelling love affair. They have wonderful natural chemistry together and every scene they share together leaves you wanting more, despite the resolution being known from the beginning. It's a testament to the confidence in these performances that the filmmakers never try to soften the harder edges of Fiennes' character. If the present day plot that the film alternates between can’t quite match this, it is still a nice parallel to events from the past as each character confronts their personal losses and tries to come to terms with them, and both Juliette Binoche and Naveen Andrews are great. Only Dafoe’s character feels a little superfluous to the film, good though he is. The score is achingly romantic and the cinematography is stunning.

"Hana" (Juliette Binoche) volunteers to remain in war-torn Italy to look after her badly burnt patient. Who is he? Well nobody knows. All he recalls is that he came from England and that some time ago he was married. The arrival of the enigmatic Canadian "Caravaggio" (Willem Dafoe) starts to unravel the mystery as his suspicions as to the bedridden man's true identity, along with that man's gradually more lucid recollections take us back to a time when he first arrived in North Africa. He is "Count Almásy (Ralph Fiennes) who has come to draw maps. The onset of WWII interrupts his cartography, but "Caravaggio" suspects that he proceeded to assist the Nazi occupiers. Did he? It's also clear that he had a deeply intense relationship with "Katherine", (Kristen Scott Thomas), a married pillar of the local colonial society. Slowly, but surely, Anthony Minghella ensures that the threads start to come together - but tragedy seems to follow the Count wherever he goes, and it isn't long before we fill in the blanks that led him to his present, terminal state. Meantime, "Hana" is falling in love with "Kip" (Naveen Andrews), a bomb disposal expert who, with his squad, has taken up residence on their lawn. What really makes this stand out is the glorious cinematography. John Seale uses the light wonderfully on the Tunisian Sahara, at the eerily beautiful "Cave of Swimmers" and at the various Italian locations that add huge richness to this gently unfolding story. Fiennes and KST have a wonderful, understated, chemistry between them; Binoche adds real integrity and humanity to her role, and though Dafoe features quite sparingly, his crucial part in unravelling this human puzzle is played deftly. There is no denying that this is far too long, and the pacing of the film could do with some added juice now and again, but the assembly of talent on display here delivers a classy mix of romance and ambiguity in a stylish and creative fashion.