Solid: good story, graceful execution

Rating: 6/10 (17 October 2001)

Range of performance from actors was on the whole good; Nicolas Cage and John Hurt doing really quite well - although Cage's part had more scope.

Cage's accent was quite believable as English with an Italian lilt. Hurt's, as Greek, was less so; lapsing into pure English occasionally. The English/German accents were pretty terrible, no points for Patrick Malahide or David Morrissey. Ranges of the Greek island natives was small, but then, having been occupied by the Italians, they didn't have very much to smile about.
All the acting was very good, down to passable. Points to Cage and Hurt for some great performances as the suave love-struck Italian and rugged, long-suffering Greek father respectively.
The story - okay, a group of opera-singing Italian artillerymen is perhaps not the most natural subject, but the boys could definitely sing; Cage's mandolin playing was haunting and thoroughly believable (I can't believe it wasn't him playing it, in fact). The story is classic love-triangle material, but a war and a twist keep it interesting.
The cinematography was excellent, John Toll showing us the lush Greek Cephallonian landscape. However, with scenery as striking as this, Toll could hardly go wrong by just pointing the camera anywhere. The scenery, already really a character of its own, becomes somewhat more dominant toward the end.
Pacing was rather slow for my taste. Some shots lingered a little too long when I was expecting a cut. General pacing was slow; with the start of the third act being a jarring acceleration into high-gear. After that the pacing slows down again with a slight bump toward the end.
Overall: for someone interested in a solid film, and willing not to bitch about the pacing, this is definitely one to see. Good story, direction, and cinematography. If the editor could tighten it up a little, this would be 8/10; otherwise 6.