| The English Surgeon | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Geoffrey Smith |
| Produced by | Geoffrey Smith |
| Starring | Henry Marsh, Igor Petrovich |
| Music by | Nick Cave Warren Ellis |
| Editing by | Kathy O'Shea |
| Release date(s) | October 2007 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The English Surgeon is a film, which premiered at the London Film Festival on 1 October 2007.
The English Surgeon is shot in a Ukrainian hospital full of desperate patients and makeshift equipment, but it is ultimately not a medical film—it is about a man, Henry Marsh, and his partnership with Ukrainian colleague Igor Petrovich, and their struggle with moral, ethical and professional issues.
Henry's emotional journey takes him to visit the mother of a young girl he couldn't save some years ago, intercut with the current dilemma of a young man called Marian, dying of a brain tumour said to be inoperable in Ukraine. Marian has come to Kiev hoping that Henry can save him. He thinks he can, but only if Marian is awake throughout the entire operation.
With an original soundtrack composed and performed by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, the film is set in a bleak Ukrainian landscape as Henry and his colleague Igor Petrovich struggle against massive logistical odds and the wrath of the old Soviet health system.