The African desert and the Italian monastery are important symbols in Anthony Minghella’s film, The English Patient, which was produced in 1996 based on Michael Ondaatje’s novel. The desert reveals the devastating nature of war and the meaningless desire to draw a boundary. The border inscribed on the map is scattered by the wind swirling over the desert. The ruined monastery is the place where the people who are suffering from the scars of the war live together and heal each other. In this paper, the problems implied in drawing boundaries on a map, nationality, and race will be discussed with special attention to the symbolic meaning of the desert, the monastery, and the map.