Minghella on MinghellaBritish cinema lost one of its shining lights this week when director Anthony Minghella passed away at the age of 54.  Minghella was responsible for relatively few films in his directorial career but those projects that he did work on were remarkably well received. 

In 1990 he made his directorial debut with Truly, madly, deeply, a film that defies easy categorisation.  I’d describe it as a bittersweet supernatural romantic comedy, something like Ghost but with all the matter-of-factness and irony that the British do so well.   This film simultaneously introduced me to the charms of both Pablo Neruda and Alan Rickman and any film that can do that has got to be a lasting favourite.

Minghella is probably better known for his other films - The English patient (for which he won an Oscar), The talented Mr. Ripley, and Cold mountain, though he also wrote numerous plays.  In 2005 he published Minghella on Minghella in which he discusses the movie-making process.

For more information on the life and works of Anthony Minghella read the obituary from The Independent.