The brilliant One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a psychiatric film, is compared to The English Patient, set at the end of World War II. Both films use powerful nurse characters to portray a unique nursing image. Through the use of strong nurse characters, contrasting images of nurses are portrayed. Nurse Ratched, from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, is a middle-aged ex-military nurse who is head of the hospital ward and is characterized as a cold, repressive authoritarian and Hana, from The English Patient, is a 20-year-old Canadian . military nurse characterized as friendly and kind-hearted. The films shed light on the emotional depth of nurses' unique relationships with their patients. Nurse Ratched hides her humanity by appearing rigid and condescending towards her patients while Nurse Hana emphasizes her humanity by defining love and compassion through her nursing role. Nurse Ratched is portrayed as an oppressive dictator whose unyielding authority dehumanizes mentally ill patients through progressive psychological emasculation. His methods involve severe control and complete submission to his will. This was intensely evident during the group therapy she conducted. Group therapy in itself was poorly therapeutic, as it was a form of control led by Nurse Ratched, who believed she was truly helping the patients. Leading these dramatic but tense groups, he was the cause of the progressive psychological emasculation of the patients. In a group therapy case, Cheswick decides to express his concerns about cigarette rationing. However, Nurse Ratched does not support his concerns and sends him to a Disturbed Unit for a while, regaining control. Nurse Ratched uses shame to force patients back to the center of the paper... heavily influenced by the type of environment they practice in. The two contrasting nurses portray powerful opposing images of what a nurse depicts. The films manage to depict powerful and profound images of the two nurses with contrasting qualities in two different worlds. The emotional depths of each character are defined through their role as a nurse. Each film highlights the nurses' unique relationship with their patients. Both films reveal humanity, from the perspective of both nurses illuminated by two vividly contrasting lights, all so successful through the roles of the powerful characters. Works Cited Douglas, M. (producer) and Forman, M. (director). (1975). One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest [movie]. United States: Fantasy Films.Ondaatje, M. (director) and Minghella, A. (director). (1996). The English Patient[movie]. England: Miramax Films.