no heat

Rating: 4/10 (4 January 2017)

It's 1940 Greece. Cephallonia is an island of traditions. Pelagia (Penélope Cruz) is the daughter of Dr. Iannis (John Hurt) and girlfriend to childish fisherman Mandras (Christian Bale). Fighting breaks out between Greece and Italy. Mandras goes off to war vowing to marry Pelagia upon his return. The Axis forces march onto the island with no resistance. Italian Captain Antonio Corelli (Nicolas Cage) and his men never fire a shot. Mandras returns terribly injured and then joins the partisans. Despite initial hatred, Pelagia falls for Corelli and his mandolin. Captain Günther Weber (David Morrissey) is the awkward German trying to befriend Corelli. When Italy surrenders, allegiances change.
The Anglo-American lead actors strip away the Mediterranean heat. Cage is playing up the quirkiness unnecessarily. Bale can never pass for an islander. Everybody is doing an accent. There is no chemistry between anybody. Cruz is left with no worthy dance partner. There are no compelling relationships and the movie suffers. It's a warmed-up wartime period piece romance.