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The Physician
2013 155 min Germany R 16+
★7.6
Adventure, Drama, History
Director: Philipp Stölzl
📖 Based on the novel
«The Physician»
byNoah Gordon
Trailers
Description
England, 1021: Born in a miserable mining town, Robert Cole swears to become a physician and vanquish disease and death. His harsh path of many years, a quest for knowledge besieged by countless challenges and sacrifices, leads him to the remote Isfahan, in Persia, where he meets Ibn Sina, the greatest healer of his time.
Budget:
$36M
Worldwide:
$57.28M
Starring
Tom Payne
Actor
Stellan Skarsgård
Actor
Olivier Martinez
Actor
Awards
5 nominations total
Key opinion
The Physician is a visually ambitious epic that succeeds as an engaging adventure but divides viewers on its historical authenticity. While many praise its immersive production design and exploration of science versus dogma, others criticize its narrative simplifications and reliance on Western-centric tropes.
| Production | The production design masterfully captures a stark, immersive contrast between the bleak, grimy aesthetic of 11th-century England and the vibrant, opulent architecture of Persia. | |
| Acting | Stellan Skarsgård and Ben Kingsley deliver standout, grounding performances that anchor the film's central narrative of mentorship and discovery. | |
| Theme | The film explores compelling thematic conflicts regarding the cost of scientific progress, the suppression of knowledge, and the tension between faith and empirical reasoning. | |
| Runtime | The 150-minute runtime is a point of contention; some find the pacing rewarding and appropriately epic, while others feel the film is overstuffed and occasionally drags. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay faces criticism for prioritizeing melodramatic storytelling and Western-centric exoticism over rigorous historical accuracy and cultural nuance. |