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"Captain
Corelli's Mandolin" gives the false impression that it is a
romance. Then it also gives the false impression of being a war
movie. Then it gives the false impression of being a story about
how music can bring people together. But in the end, I have no
idea what "Corelli" is all about. All I know is that
it is too long and it captures very little depth in each of it's
three stories before going on to the next repetitively dramatic
moment, where director John Madden continuously has his
characters run into each others arms in cheesy dramatic fashion.
That
is the extent of this Nicholas Cage-Penelope Cruz flick, which
takes place during World War 2. Penelope Cruz stars as Pelagia,
whose father (John Hurt) is the only doctor on the Greek island
of Cephallonia. She is engaged to be married to Mandras
(Christian Bale), a rather childish fisherman who can't read.
But before the two can tie the knot, Mandras is drafted into the
war with many other Greek patriots who wish to defend their
homes against the invading Italians.
The
Greeks have the Italians on the run until Hitler decides to step
in and help his allies. This pushes the Italian army into
Cephallonia. One unit of the army happens to be a compilation of
opera singers, of which Captain Corelli (Nicholas Cage) leads.
He is also a gifted Mandolin player, as Pelagia, who is housing
him after he gave her father medical supplies, sees one night.
At
first she has a growing resentment toward him. Mandras is
fighting somewhere in Albania and Corelli sits along the beach
playing his Mandolin and singing opera. But as Mandras is away,
she predictably falls in love with him.
The
cast tries their best to do what they can. Cruz seems to blend
in very well with the Italian settings, only her transformation
from resentment to undying love is never that evident. Christian
Bale is wasted with the pointless "other man" role,
while John Hurt is pretty much the scene-stealer here. And
Cage's Italian accent is a little bit under par, but this marks
his entrance back into dramatic film work, whereas his previous
couple of films have been action movies and feel-good fluff.
Sadly though, "Captain Corelli" is unfocused
melodramatic fluff.
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