Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- adventurous
- earnest
- inspirational
- historical film night
- literary adaptation night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film visually impressive and engaging in its historical subject matter, while faulting its inaccuracies, simplistic romanticism, and old-fashioned storytelling.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Rob leaves 11th-century England and disguises himself as a Jew to study medicine in Ispahan despite restrictions on Christian students.
Rob's medical vocation and Avicenna's teaching oppose prejudice, religious fundamentalism, and fear of empirical knowledge.
The film moves from English villages to Persian courts and medical classrooms through elaborate sets, costumes, and scene design.
Rob's development is shaped first by an itinerant barber surgeon and later by Ibn Sina, played by Ben Kingsley.
Films like The Physician, and why
Kingdom of Heaven
shared medieval historical setting, adventurous quest for knowledge, religious conflict, and sweeping visual scale
The Last Samurai
shared historical adventure, cross-cultural intellectual exchange, teacher student relationship, and richly designed period world
Medicine Man
shared physician protagonist, medical discovery, moral idealism, and resistance to entrenched superstition
Movie Details
- Director
- Philipp Stölzl
- Release Date
- 2013-12-25
- Runtime
- 155 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (1221)
Cast
- Tom Payne
- Stellan Skarsgård
- Olivier Martinez
- Emma Rigby
- Ben Kingsley
- Elyas M'Barek
- Fahri Yardım
- Makram J. Khoury
- Michael Marcus
- Stanley Townsend
Common questions
- What is The Physician about?
- An orphaned English healer journeys into medieval Persia and risks persecution to pursue medical knowledge under Avicenna.
- What is The Physician like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Physician as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Physician violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Physician as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Physician?
- Critics broadly found the film visually impressive and engaging in its historical subject matter, while faulting its inaccuracies, simplistic romanticism, and old-fashioned storytelling.
- Which films are like The Physician?
- Films with a similar feel include Kingdom of Heaven, The Last Samurai, and Medicine Man.
- How long is The Physician?
- The Physician runs 155 minutes.
