beautiful & moving

Rating: 7/10 (6 May 2001)

I haven't read Louis de Berniere's book, and don't know anything about the history, so I can't comment on the faithfulness of the film to either*. But Captain Corelli's Mandolin stood on it's own as a beautiful & moving story set on the stunningly lovely Greek island of Cephalonia. Go and see it if only for a sneak preview of your next holiday destination! Nicolas Cage's accent, shall we say, under-utilised his Italian background, but this is fairly easily ignored if you set out to enjoy the movie. Penelope Cruz carries the movie - she is gorgeous as Pelagia. There is an interesting bit just when Pelagia's local beau is about to leave to fight & he gives a lovely on-bended-knee speech, but only to set her up for a gag, as it turns out. Our emotions are easily aligned with Pelagia' feelings of confused humiliation. The relationship between Pelagia & her father (John Hurt) is sweet & lightly drawn.
*Go & see Captain Corelli's Mandolin even if you get uptight about the possibility that the movie will be different from the book - they're completely different mediums & movies can't possibly reproduce in every detail what's is a book, or vice versa.