Rating: R
Genre:
Drama
Theatrical Release: 08/17/2001(USA)
Release Date: 02/05/2002
SubTitles: English
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: 5.1/DTS
Run Time: 129 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Questionable for Children, Adult Language, Sexual Situations
Distributor/Studio: Universal Studios
Louis de Bernières' best-selling novel of love during wartime is brought to the screen in this story that blends
comedy,
action, and
romance. In 1940, war rages throughout Europe, but the fighting has yet to arrive on the Greek island of Cephallonia, where life continues to follow its own slow, deliberate path until word arrives that Italian troops have invaded neighboring Albania. A wave of anti-Axis patriotism sweeps the island, and
Mandras (
Christian Bale), a local fisherman, is one of a handful of men who volunteer for the army, leaving behind his aging mother (
Irene Papas) and the woman he loves,
Pelagia (
Penélope Cruz), the daughter of the island's physician,
Dr. Iannis (
John Hurt). The timing of
Mandras and his compatriots proves less than fortuitous, as Italian troops invade Greece in their absence, but the remaining leaders of the island issue an ultimatum -- the people of Cephallonia will surrender, but only to a ranking German officer. Since none of the available German officers can speak a word of Greek, an Italian soldier fluent in the language,
Capt. Antonio Corelli (
Nicholas Cage), is sent in to serve as translator.
Corelli stays on with the Greek occupation forces, and he soon finds himself falling in love with beautiful
Pelagia, who believes that
Mandras was killed in the fighting in Albania. But as
romance slowly blooms between the Italian soldier and the Greek girl,
Mandras and a handful of surviving soldiers have joined a guerilla resistance faction, and they join up with Allied forces in a bid to retake Greece; soon,
Pelagia must choose between the two men she loves, as the Greeks battle both the Italian occupation troops and German soldiers who have been sent in to replace them.
Captain Corelli's Mandolin was directed by
John Madden; the project originally began shooting with
Roger Michell, but
Michell was forced to resign from the film after he suffered a heart attack.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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