It gets you involved on a whole lot of levels.

Rating: Null/10 (10 September 2001)

The movie was taken from the book, "Corelli's Mandolin." The author apparently listed every human emotion he could think of and tried to incorporate them all into one book. I didn't read it but that's how the movie turned out. It has humor, instrumental and vocal music, graphic violence, magnificent scenery, history, nature on the rampage, dancing, naked women, war-time atrocities, anticipated and unanticipated plot twists, and philosophy, all provided by an excellent cast. I didn't anticipate, and was a bit put off by, the level of violence. But, if you read the dedication at the end, you'll understand why it had to be. Nicolas Cage has become my favorite contemporary actor. He didn't disappoint. Penelope Cruz is a gifted actress and, while IMHO she's not Sophia Loren/Rita Hayworth/Ingrid Bergman beautiful, it's hard to take your eyes off her. I've never seen John Hurt give anything less than a terrific performance. If he doesn't get an Oscar nomination for this one, I don't see any reason to continue awarding them. In one scene, he explains to Cruz (his film daughter) what love is. All I can say is, "Wow!!!" I've seen better movies this year. But this one is plenty good enough to more than justify the price of admission.