As a glossy romance in dangerous times, this has all the classic elements and does a reasonably good job of marshalling people and events to its heart-wrenching finale.
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:114
Fresh:33
Rotten:81
Average Rating:4.4/10
Consensus: The cinematography is gorgeous, but the movie plays it fast and loose with history and the novel it was adapted from. Mostly, the movie fails because the romance between the leads strains credulity and the story is largely uninvolving.
Runtime: 2 hrs 9 mins
Genre: Dramas
US Box Office: $25,261,240
Synopsis:
Academy Award (R) winner Nicolas Cage (City of Angels) and Penelope Cruz (All About My Mother) star in Captain Corelli's Mandolin, an epic tale about the enduring hope of love and the devastating...
Academy Award (R) winner Nicolas Cage (City of Angels) and Penelope Cruz (All About My Mother) star in Captain Corelli's Mandolin, an epic tale about the enduring hope of love and the devastating brutality of war, set amid the Italian occupation of Greece during World War II.
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 (Cage), an officer with an irrepressibly jovial personality and passion for the mandolin, initially alienates a number of the villagers, including Pelagia (Cruz). 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. -- © 2001 Universal Pictures
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, Christian Bale, John Hurt
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, Christian Bale, John Hurt, David Morrissey, Irene Pappas
Director: John Madden
Director: John Madden
Screenwriter: Shawn Slovo
Producer: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Kevin Loader, Mark Huffam
Composer: Stephen Warbeck
Studio: Universal Pictures
Reviews for Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Nicolas Cage and Penélope Cruz are ill-matched, and the range of heavy accents is distracting.
Strikes too many false notes on the dramatic side to add up to a satisfying emotional experience.
A romance as spectacular as this novel is, it still has a difficult job making the leap to the screen.
...Touching and at the same time brutal, brimming with the emotional conflict that surges within its characters.
Gorgeous to look at and well-played, it's definitely watchable, yet strangely uninvolving.
A lot of talent was squandered on this incoherent grab bag of war-movie moments.
A historical drama that simply fails to make convincing human connections.
Here's a film with all the right ingredients which somehow manages to taste bland as a hell.
The stunning look of this film took my breath away and overcame its shortcomings for me.
Yet another WWII love triangle that suffers from bad acting, but looks great!
...feels as if it has been manufactured in a chop shop of former Oscar winners and nauseating Miramax 'prestige' puff pieces.
The Greek tourism board couldn't have turned out a more persuasive commercial. Buying the various twists and turns of Shawn Slovo's screenplay, however, is more difficult.
La novela, disponible en cualquier librería, es una gran realización; desgraciadamente al llevarla a los 24 cuadros por segundo, perdió mucha de su fuerza.
The movie duplicates exactly my experience with the book, although I must say I was thankful to be spared serial outbreaks of hearty Greek dancing.
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