What a wonderful surprise!

Rating: Null/10 (28 July 2004)

I finally watched this movie because I thought I ought to, but I wasn't expecting a lot. Boy, was I in for a surprise! Like the book (which I started but didn't finish), the movie begins slowly, but once it gets going it draws you in and won't let you go. This is a different sort of love story. Cage & Cruz give wonderfully understated performances that manage to communicate both the palpable longing that draws Corelli and Pelagia together and the internal conflicts & social pressures that pull them apart.
John Hurt's performance as Pelagia's father is fabulous. In fact, this film is just full of "smaller" stories you wish they'd had time to tell you.
It's a masterpiece of subtlety and nuance. You'll want to watch this one again and again!