Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)

Director:

John Madden

Writers:

Shawn Slovo (screenplay)
Louis de Bernières (novel)

Release Date:

17 August 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance | War

Plot:

When a fisherman leaves to fight with the Greek army during WWII, his fiancee falls in love with the local Italian commander.

Plot Keywords:

Italian | Love | Island | Greek Island | Doctor

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Penélope Cruz	...	Pelagia
John Hurt	...	Dr. Iannis
Christian Bale	...	Mandras
Irene Papas	...	Drosoula
Gerasimos Skiadaressis	...	Mr. Stamatis
Aspasia Kralli	...	Mrs. Stamatis
Mihalis Giannatos	...	Kokolios
Dimitris Kaberidis	...	Father Aresenios (as Dimitris Kamperidis)
Pietro Sarubbi	...	Velisarios, The Strongman (as Pedro Sarubbi)
Viki Maragaki	...	Eleni, Pelagia's Friend
Joanna-Daria Adraktas	...	Young Lemoni
Ira Tavlaridis	...	Older Lemoni
Katerina Didaskalou	...	Lemoni's Mother
Emilios Chilakis	...	Dimitris
Nikos Karathanos	...	Spiros

Also Known As:

Capitaine Corelli (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

UK | France | USA

Language:

English | Greek | German | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Brazil:12 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:M18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Chile:TE | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 (bw) | Hungary:14 | Italy:T | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG (edited for re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #37955)

Filming Locations:

Kefallonia island, Greece

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

In the first scenes Nicolas Cage sings the same song he sang in The Family Man (2000): "La donna è mobile".

Goofs:

Factual errors: A radio broadcast announces that the Allies have taken Rome. This leads to Italy dropping out of the war and fighting between the Italians and Germans. Italy surrendered in September 1943, after the Allies captured Sicily. Rome fell in June 1944, long after all of Captain Corelli's men were dead.

Quotes:

Iannis: What on earth you think you are doing?
Corelli: I'm feeling the orchestra.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Gilmore Girls: The Road Trip to Harvard (#2.4)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Giovinezza

Ambitious project falls slightly short

As is often the case when you attempt to take a 400 plus page book and cram it into a two hour film, a lot is lost. Here director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) takes on an extremely ambitious project and almost pulls it off. What we get is a charming and emotionally compelling film that seems somehow incomplete.

There is much about this film that is wonderful and fantastic. The cinematography by John Toll (Cinematographer for Braveheart and Legends of the Fall, winning Oscars for both) is splendid. Working with Madden, the choices for locations on the Greek island of Kefallonia are superb and the visual images that come from photographing these majestic locations in varying light are lush and beautiful. Madden also uses numerous Greek actors as the townspeople, giving the town an authentic feel. The soundtrack is also terrific and the mandolin passages and vocals by the Italian soldiers are marvelous.

Madden does an excellent job of bringing us the Italian occupation and the romance, which take up the greater part of the film. There are numerous sweet and funny moments throughout this segment. However, by the time the serious battle drama is ready to unfold, there isn't much film left in the reel and this component is extremely rushed and abbreviated. While the battle scenes are well done, subsequent to the battle it is obvious that increasingly greater compromises are being made to keep the film from running too long. By the time we reach the post war scenes, the treatment is merely skeletal. Another negative is that the DVD is particularly sparse on features.

Nicholas Cage is charming in the romantic lead as the sentimental Captain who seems to have joined the army to sing rather than fight. When fight he must, Cage switches gears seamlessly into a man of fierce principle and resolve and somehow remains believable in both personas.

Penelope Cruz, whom the camera loves, gives an uninspired performance as Pelagia. In part this is because Cage so dominates the screen, but Cruz just seems too placid in a part that should be emotionally torrential and dynamic. She allows the character to be objectified as Corelli's love interest rather than establishing her as a powerful character in her own right.

John Hurt gives a fantastic performance as the wise old doctor, who knows as much about human nature as medicine. However, Christian Bale seems a bit overwrought and stiff as Pelagia's fiancé.

I rated this film an 8/10. Despite some drawbacks, this is a touching film that is well worth seeing. The photography alone is worth the price of admission.