Captain Corelli's Mandolin Movie
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Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
The idyllic beauty of Greece's Mediterranean coast has been invaded by Italy, bringing legions of soldiers to the once tranquil island of Cephallonia. Captain Antonio Corelli, an officer with an irrepressibly jovial personality and passion for the mandolin, initially alienates a number of the villagers, including Pelagia. The daughter of the village doctor, Pelagia is an educated and strong-willed woman, and while at first offended by the Italian soldier's behavior, she slowly warms to his certain charms as they are forced to share her father's home. When Pelagia's fiancee, a local fisherman, heads off to war, the friendship between Antonio and Pelagia grows even stronger. Her beauty and intelligence have captured his heart, and his fondness for the village's vibrant community causes him to question his reasons for fighting. Antonio becomes a part of the lives of the villagers, but the moment is fleeting. As the war grows ever closer, Antonio and Pelagia are forced to choose between their allegiance to their countries and the love they feel for one another-a love which must overcome tremendous odds, and endure the inevitable sacrifice which accompanies eternal devotion.
| Nicolas Cage | Captain Antonio Corelli |
| Penélope Cruz | Pelagia |
| John Hurt | Dr. Iannis |
| Christian Bale | Mandras |
| Irene Papas | Drosoula |
| Gerasimos Skiadaressis | Mr. Stamatis |
| Aspasia Kralli | Mrs. Stamatis |
| Michael Yannatos | Kokolios |
| Dimitris Kaberidis | Father Aresenios |
| Pietro Sarubbi | Velisarios, The Strongman |
| Viki Maragaki | Eleni, Pelagia's Friend |
| Joanna-Daria Adraktas | Young Lemoni |
| Ira Tavlaridis | Older Lemoni |
| Katerina Didaskalu | Lemoni's Mother |
| Emilios Chilakis | Dimitris |
| John Madden |
5.70 out of 10 (8120 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Great Movie! Romance, War, Passion, and Wonderful Scenery
posted on 21 Jul 2009I enjoyed this movie so much that I saw it twice. It's kind of slow in the beginning, but I never thought for a second this was a defect; on the contrary, its slowness contributes to recreate the tranquil atmosphere of the stupendous Greek island of Cephallonia as it was in the forties. The photography of the island was so beautiful that I was almost able to smell the olive oil and the leaves on the trees.The main characters were noble, heroic, and honest. The second time I saw the movie, I appreciated even more the figure of the Greek Mandras. His very last scene with Pelagia is a perfect image of how a man can accept a hurting future with incredible dignity and honor. I really admired the guy. I liked Corelli and the soldiers of the Opera House because their jovial character reminded me of many of my friends in Italy, gathered in huge parties driving around at night and singing while waiting for the bakery to open at four in the morning in order to get a croissant. I liked the beautiful, strong, and intelligent Pelagia and her wise and loving father Iannis. I loved the entire atmosphere of the island, which reminded me of my father's small village in Southern Italy. These Mediterranean places have one exceptional thing in common: time seems to run slower over there, letting you fully appreciate the beauty and the serenity of the community and the scenery.There is something weird about all the accents that somehow declasses the movie a little, and makes it look less sumptuous than it is. I understand that some people may feel a little puzzled by this cornucopia of Italian, Greek, German, and Spanish (Penelope Cruz) accents, even though this aspect did not bother me at all.Anyways, the main reasons that made me like the movie were the growing appreciation of the Greeks and the Italians for each other's cultures, the ability of the characters to elevate human dignity and pure sentiments over the brutality of war, and last but not least the contrast between the Latin culture of the Greeks and the Italians on one hand and the Teutonic culture of the Germans on the other. Finally, this movie made me think a lot about the very meaning of war and about the fact that you can call somebody enemy only until you actually get to know that person. That is the moment when he or she stops being an impersonal shadow and becomes part of your world, and sometimes - like in this movie – he or she can even become `your world.'Inspiring.
the story is very predictable...
posted on 19 Jul 2009Set during WWII on a Greek island, a small town doctor (Hurt) is training his beautiful daughter (Cruz), to become a doctor as well. Cruz is in love with a local fisherman (Bale) and wishes to marry him against her fathers will. Then the war comes to the island and Bale decides to head out to fight the Italians and the Germans. Before he leaves he engages to Cruz. The island then gets occupied by the German allies, the Italian. This is were Captain Corelli arrives (Cage) with his mandolin, and falls in love with Cruz. From here on the story is very predictable and the script is terrible. Adding to a bunch of clichees and ludicrous lines, comes Cage's horrible accent and his awful character makes it hard to believe that anyone would fall in love with him. At times I thought it all was attended to be a comedy, but apparently not, and I found this film to be boring and little giving. Rating; 1 point for depicting the Greeks history during WWII and the magnificent scenery, and 1 point for Bale and Hurt, whom with a terrible script, struggled their way through the film and came out fairly decent in the end. 2/10
Lavish setting can't make up for boredom
posted on 07 Jul 2009It seems that whenever Hollywood runs out of ideas it turns to the latest best-selling book. Then having cast the wrong people, taken out the best scenes, ignored the readers' favourite characters and completely changed the ending, they unleash the final product on a public who loved the book but are destined to hate the movie.Following Bridget Jones' Diary and The Hole, the third such adaptation this month alone sees Nicholas Cage star as Captain Corelli in the movie based on Louis de Bernieres' novel.Corelli is officer of the Italian army occupying the Greek island of Cephalonia during World War Two. Despite the initial suspicions of the locals, the charm of the Italian soldiers soon wins them over. Central to the story is the love affair between Corelli and local girl Pelagia (Cruz).Considering that this is the focal point of the film, the chemistry between the two leads is minimal to non-existent. Cage and Cruz simply do not sit well together and at times openly appear uncomfortable on screen together.It doesn't help that the characters falling in love seems entirely improbable from what we are shown. They say very little to each other for the first hour and a half, and what they do say is generally hostile. Then, before you know it, they're busy declaring their undying love. It just doesn't wash.You can perhaps ignore that, plus the fact that the story veers from the book. You can possibly even see past the number of real-life deaths in the war that are completely skimmed over. The main thing you can't overlook however is just how boring the film is for most of its duration. The action doesn't pick up until the Germans arrive, and aside from an astonishing and evocative scene with the firing squad, the rest of the action is instantly forgettable.It seems that director John Madden (Shakespeare In Love) has made the same mistake as the BBC did with soap flop Eldorado: a decent plot has been sacrificed for a lavish location. It's difficult to work out just what audience the film is aiming to draw. A majority of the book lovers will detest it's meddling and general cinemagoers will be put off by the sluggish pace. Overall it's well filmed but with a lack of interesting plot, poor performances from its leads and a lethargic style there's not too much going for it. Oh, except for the odd dig at the Germans, of course…4/10
Photography, music and battle scene save the day
posted on 23 Jun 2009Penélope Cruz just laps up the camera from every angle; those deep Spanish eyes and that so sweet face, and long dark hair compete with the breath-taking scenery of the Greek island. But from there to being a competent actress leaves somewhat to be desired, though there were some intense moments of interpretation here and there. Nicolas Cage is well able to carry out dramatic rolls (Leaving Las Vegas, qv) but it would seem that in this film he was either a little uninspired or bewitched by the Enchantress, or simply the chemistry just did not nucleate into anything worthy of such an evidently intense story-line. One just did not feel great things for them; indeed one felt a bit sorry that Mandras (Christian Bale) got shoved to one side, though he also did not come up to great expectations but appeared a little more authentically cast. Ever since `Empire of the Sun' I have been anxiously awaiting excellent parts from Bale; am still waiting. However, the battle scene in the village was excellently done, comparable to the best of Spielberg. Beautiful photography from John Toll, as near as good as in `Braveheart'. The music is also worth mentioning: Stephen Warbeck has done his homework and synchronised well with the mood of the film. The Italian soldiers singing extracts from Verdi and Puccini was good fun, and some moments of Captain Corelli playing his mandolin were even poignant. Whether Cage was really playing the instrument or only miming he did it very well. All in all, an interesting couple of hours in which the leading actors did not come up to much, though the supporting cast were mostly fine. Nice to see Irene Papas: it seems centuries ago I saw her with Anthony Quinn in `Zorba the Greek' ………… was it centuries ago? Must go now and try to find the book…………….
I experienced the whole range of emotions. Fabulous!
posted on 20 May 2009Brilliant film, put me through the whole range of emotions. The setting was fabulous, the acting superb throughout. The German officer was very good, what a character to play. Nic Cage was fantastic as ever, perfect for this role. It's got to be his best role since "City of Angels". Full marks to all involved. I loved this film completely, can't wait to get it on DVD and watch it over and over.
Give me a break!
posted on 21 Feb 2009Although this movie is not out in the States yet I was able to catch it on a trip to London. I'm sorry, but I just could not get past Nicholas Cage with that horrible Italian accent and phony "love of life" demeanor. Penelope Cruz was great, as was John Hurt. These two are in a class far above Nicholas Cage who seems to be limited to action movie and the occasional chick flick. However, I have to say that Christian Bale stole the show. Especially bearing in mind that the leads were all playing characters of a different nationality than their own, Christian Bale was the only one who came across as convincingly Greek. In fact, I didn't even realize it was him at first despite having seen him in Metroland other films. The film was hardly as gripping or well-performed as the English Patient, which I think it pretends to. Why couldn't they have had Greek and Italian actors in the lead parts, speaking in their own languages (with the translation in subtitles)?? This movie was a sad day for Nicholas Cage and a sad day for fans of international films if this is the kind of Hollywoodization we can expect in the future.
Expecting the worst...
posted on 05 Nov 2008I have to admit that I approached this movie with a sense of expectation and dread. Louis de Berniere's bestselling novel is one of my favourites and anyone who has read it will realise that there is no way in hell that any screen adaptation can be 100% faithful. All the way through I found myself convincing myself that the movie was unsuccessful, and had stripped the book's plot back so far as to render it redundant. The ending, however, is much better than that in the novel, and I could not stop thinking about the movie afterwards. Still, the plusses (John Toll's magnificent cinematography, Stephen Warbeck's great score, etc) I felt did not outweigh my initial negatives (Cage's miscasting, a heavily diluted script).But, two days later, I was queuing again to see Corelli, and although not perfect, I have to admit now that the movie is the best anyone could have expected. Cage is actually brilliant in a role that even de Berniere was concerned was not a fully rounded character: his carefree spirit which gives way to shattered remorse is spot on, and complements the superb double act of Penelope Cruz and John Hurt perfectly. David Morrissey is quietly effective as Weber, the Nazi officer trying to reconcile his feelings for his newfound Italian friends and his inbred superiority complex to those around him. And the fine Greco-Italian supporting cast bring de Berniere's sundrenched world of Cepholonia dazzlingly alive.On leaving the cinema second time around, I finally let go my passion for the novel which prevented me from fully appreciating the story of WW2 Cepholonia in cinematic terms. My hat goes off to John Madden who, despite the almost expected critical drubbing he is receiving from the British critics (any director who has had a major success like Shakespeare in Love behind them is always a target for these moaning ninnies!),has managed to transfer a terrifically difficult book to the big screen with such heart, verve and humanity (the core virtues of the novel, in fact) that he has created another classic love story that will probably only be fully appreciated when the dust has settled a few years from now.If you are a fan of the book, like me, it's hard, but try not to make the same mistake on your initial viewing. Try to erase the book from your mind for two hours, bathe yourself in the glorious Mediterranean atmosphere, and discover Corelli, Pelagia, Mandras, Dr Iannis, as if for the first time (pretend you're watching something made from an original screenplay), and I guarantee you won't be disappointed. In fact, you'll be eagerly waiting to own your own copy of this delightful movie on video or DVD.8/10
Some of you dont get it!
posted on 04 Oct 2008i, like "Rainbow2002" like NICOLAS CAGE in this movie! There are a few comments here that clearly express that some of you's have no idea of the real talent of acting that NICOLAS CAGE brings to EVERY movie he is in, and this movie is no exception. Some of you that said NICOLAS CAGE didn't do well in Captain Corelli's Mandolin must have no real sense!but i suppose that you's have tall poppie syndrome! you just dont like CAGE cause he is too good! maybe you's need to watch it again, who knows?
well known actors should not attempt a foreign accent...
posted on 06 Sep 2008Nicholas Cage and his so fake accent really made this film worse than it really was. From other reviews I've read, I was expecting a really boring, awful film. While not that exciting, it wasn't as bad as I expected. The movie was definitely too long. The last 20 minutes I just kept looking at the clock. I will give it credit for having some beautiful outside shots of the ocean and landscape.(SLIGHT SPOILERS): And they didn't have to have some little happy ending either. It was so silly how they just added a couple of grey streaks on the side of Cage's hair to show that several years had passed. And once again,Penelope Cruz does a below average acting job. She is just annoying to watch. And had no chemistry with either Cage or Bale. And Bale, who is usually good, doesn't have much to work with here.And I had a real problem about someone getting shot multiple times, then with no antibiotics and few medical supplies, they still survive even after they had been left for dead hours before being found.
No way does he fully recover from that like they show in the movie.FINAL VERDICT: Very minor war scenes. More of an unoriginal love story with bad acting but beautiful scenery.
Less than great, a whole lot less than exceptable also
posted on 31 Aug 2008John Madden's Captain Corelli's Mandolin is a film which lags and sags, and it is pretty pathetic at times. Some lush settings and John Hurt don't make up for inane dialogue, and braindead performances.Penelope Cruz lives on a island that has been pretty secluded since, oh I'd guess since the dawn of time? Ok, not the greatest sarcasm. Anyway, she has a fiance, played by Christian Bale who doesn't really fit the role of a greece type of person unfortunately, and she will marry him as soon as he comes back from the war. But while he's away, the Italians come in to the island and it should seem that her world might seem normal anyway. But then her father, played by Hurt who is the only watchable guy in the movie, lets an Italian Opera soldier (is that what you'd call this contradiction of a man) played by Nicolas cage with Italian accent and all, inter her home.
And I don't think I need to go any further, not because it's unthinkable, but because I don't want to drone on with the obvious plot points.Not reccomendable, unless you are a really die-hard fan of Madden's last film Shakespeare in Love (which I felt was ludicrous when it came time to the Oscars) or the novel it's based on. C-
Brilliant-not the book!!!
posted on 08 Jun 2008'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' is a fantastic film in itself. It is nothing like the book, which may disapoint its ardent followers. Yet, viewed on it's own, the film is a masterpiece. The views are spectacular and the acting isn't too bad either!! Nicolas Cage was brilliant-so different from his usual action hero type characters. Penelope cruz is superb and really holds the film together. I think that this film has to be judged as an indivdual project-not related to the book. Louis de Bernieres gave up rights to the film script, so the film is an interpretation of the director, john maddon. Go and see this film with an open mind-you'll love it; because underneath is the touching story of love and war.
Very Watchable
posted on 29 May 2008Unlike many, I have not read the book and so I watched this purely as a film in its own right. I'm not especially keen on romance dramas, and I expected this to be a bit slushy and/or operatic so I was rather hesitant about going to see it in the first place...But I'm glad I did, because it was good. Beautiful, "feel good" scenery and with a light touch of humour that made it rather more endearing than a straight drama would have been. The romance was gentle, inoffensive and sufficiently interwoven with enough "proper" story-telling to keep my interest, and the score was not too obtrusively operatic.Overall, the film takes a satisfying circular route from start to finish, inducing a range of emotions as it progresses. It's about 2 hours long, but I didn't find myself fidgeting or looking at my watch once - and that's quite a feat for me!! Very enjoyable.
Far better than "reviewers" take.
posted on 23 May 2008My wife and I found the movie to be much better than we were led to believe by critics. The acting was great, the plot well laid out and the direction exceptional. The fighting was well done, the setting perfect. It was not smothering in foul language but, of course, hollywood seems to have a pathetic need for the "f-word" even though the word did not exist during the period covered in the movie.
Definately not as good as the book!
posted on 15 May 2008I was soooooooooooo disappointed when I saw this movie, even though it was a good flick. I has already asked myself how they could possibly turn in into a film, and knew that some things would be changed and/or left out completely, but they went overboard.Captain Corelli's Mandolin is my favourite book of all time; no doubt the best I've ever read. Which is why I hated anything that was changed for the movie. Especially how Mandras, Pelagaia's fiance, "saved" Corelli for the woman he loved. The most disappointing part of the film, however, was the ending. I LOVED the ending to the book; it made me cry tears of happiness (okay so I was a little emotional that day) so when the film ended where it did, I felt completely frustrated. I wanted to scream at the screen. Or maybe strangle someone.To anyone that hasn't seen the movie or read the book - my suggestion is you see the movie first. That way, you won't be as disappointed as I was.
Flawed but beautifully made
posted on 03 May 2008Once you can get over Nic Cage playing an Italian soldier who loves opera and believes in making love, not war, you can get down to enjoying this beautiful-looking film. This could be used as an advert for tourism in the Mediterranean. John Hurt is great and Penelope Cruz isn't bad, as you might expect. Christian Bale's character is somewhat one-dimensional, which is a shame.The main drawback of this film is the adaptation from the book - having been told subsequently the differences between the book and film plots, I feel cheated out of a much better and more convincing storyline.
beautiful & moving
posted on 27 Apr 2008I 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.
if your not swept away by penelope cruz, the landscape will do just fine.
posted on 19 Apr 2008As I was watching the List of movies offered on Pay Per View, I stumbled across Captain Corellis Mandolin. It was a friday evening and the setting in my apartment was romantic, so i decided to give it a try. Surprisingly i thought CCM was intriguing, from the whole scenery to the acting to the love story. As we follow the story of a small greek island town who is being invaded by Italian Soldiers during World War two, it focus's on Penelope Cruz and Nicholas Cage (an Italian Soldier) as they meet and fall in love through out all the turmoil and tragedy that is brought upon by the war. CCM is very touching but also moves slow at parts. Although i couldnt imagine paying the full amount to buy the dvd, i would definatley recommend it as a cheap watch on pay per view.
Not terrible
posted on 19 Apr 2008Captain Corelli has received some really harsh reviews, but it really isn't that bad. It's obvious what the problem was, the book was just not transferable onto screen. It couldn't possibly of been crammed into 2 hours, but then any longer and some would've found it too bum numbing. Needless to say, the scenery and score were just perfect. So Nic Cage's accent was dodgy, but apart from that I thought he was perfect for the part. He was exactly as I imagined Corelli to be, quite dorky but kind. For some reason, I've always thought of him like this, even after watching Con Air and Face Off. I was especially impressed with Penelope Cruz. I've never seen her in a thing, and after appearing in all those gossip columns with Tom Cruise, I foolishly thought she was just another average actress with good looks. But she was suprisingly good. I think people mistook her for being wooden when she was just trying to play her role down (nothing worse than a war damsel over-acting, how cheesy). Despite other comments, I fail to see what was so good about John Hurt. Place any other old man in his role, Ian McKellen etc, and I'm sure there would be no big difference. It's not that hard to play a wise, expressionless, old man, especially if you're old and a man. Outstanding acting came from Christian Bale. He played his part with so much emotion, I was quite suprised after American Psycho, and it made me very sad when Pelagia left him for Corelli (though one can't really see why...Pelagia goes from being in love with Mandras to practically finding him annoying, she only manages a weak "sorry" and not even any tears!) I also thought the Mandras' mother was played really well. But here are the bad points. What the hell happened to the character of Carlo?! *SPOILER* I can understand why the movie left the homosexual bit out, but his close friendship with Corelli was practically non-existent. And it can't make sense to anyone who hadn't read the book why he'd suddenly step in front of Corelli when all the Italians were being shot and save him, when the two had barely exchanged words throughout the whole film.Another major point...the chemistry between the two leads. I fail to see any whatsoever. In fact, I agree with another commenter, the only loving scenes were between Mandras and Pelagia at the beginning. This made the film lose some of its intensity. All in all, good novel adaption, quite a good film. 8/10
Good Film, Read Book Afterwards
posted on 30 Mar 2008Here's a well-made war story, nicely shot and well-acted. The portraying of the Italian and German occupancy of Greek island Kefalonia is well-done. John Hurt as Pelagia's father and the island doctor is superb, Nicolas Cage does a good job as the Captain from the title, Penelope Cruz does a good job of being beautiful and batting her eyelashes at Cage. There's heroics and humor, there's drama and romance, and it is all set on an idyllic island.Oddly enough, a very similar, or should I say almost identical, storyline, with the same characters going through the same series of events, is told in a novel by the same title, written by Louis de Bernieres. This wonderful historical novel tells the story of beautiful Pelagia, daughter of doctor Iannis, and their life on Kefalonia during WWII. Pelagia's fiancee, local fisherman Mandras, enlists when the Italian Army invades northern Greece from Albania under false pretenses. When the Axis finally prevails, with a lot of help from the Germans, a garrison of Italian soldiers is stationed on the island, and Captain Corelli plays a big part in keeping the occupation a peaceful time. As Mandras joins the partisans, charming Corelli and his mandolin are quartered with the doctor and his beautiful daughter. Of course, this makes it a novel about love. But it is also a war novel, a summary of Greek history, a tale of Communist uprising in post-war Greece, a portrait of the madness of Mussolini, and, most importantly, an ode to island life on Kefalonia.Some of these elements return in the movie, but in general, it is an impossible book to film. I am glad nobody ever tried.The movie 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin', however, is worth seeing. Just make sure you read the book *after* you see the movie.
Great adult love story and wonderful cinematography.
posted on 30 Aug 2009The movie is set on a beautiful Greek Island. It is an adult love story taking place during WWII.I found the beautiful island to be a joy to look at and the cinematography to be stunning. It looked like it was filmed in 3D with richness and depth.The story is touching with good acting all around. I do think that the movie could have been expanded to develop the story more fully.The Greek people are warm and loving, the Italian soldiers are fun- loving and laid back and the Germans were as you'd expect them to be except for the officer who accepts the surrender of the town's mayor who would rather surrender to the German's dog than to an Italian.This is not a story for younger moviegoers but I believe that adults will enjoy it very much.