A love story (Captain Corelli's Mandolin (DVD))

Member Name: jessyclown

Product:	Captain Corelli's Mandolin (DVD)
Date:	15/02/02 (153 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good acting , Beautiful scenes

Disadvantages: VEry different from the book

With the book in my mind I decided that it was time to watch the film ready to be disappointed. I knew the film could not be as good as the book as the book had given me hours of entertainment and the film would only take 124 minutes. I was prepared and keen to watch ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.

Valentines Day arrived; we sent the children to bed, opened a bottle of wine, and settled down on our sofa to watch. Maybe it was the wine or the romance of Valentines Day but I really enjoyed this film. It was not a film of the book, there were some of the same characters in it, but they did not behave in the same way as they did in the book. This film was a different and romantic story. The ending was what I would have wanted for the people in the book not what happened in the book.

This film is a love story with all the classic ‘Mills and Boon’ problems. She is betrothed to another man, he is the enemy, she can not stand the sight of him, and they both fancy each other like anything.

Penelope Cruz brilliantly plays Peligia, she is a woman in love facing many trials and dangers with the strength of character to make a difference. Nicolas Cage plays Captain Corelli who is a very attractive and well-educated Italian occupier who is more interested in music than war. The part is played well enough for the audience to start to fall in love with him. John Hurt plays Dr. Iannis, the wizened old Greek man who is Peligia father. He plays the part in a convincing manner, I could believe that he was the greek doctor who has the wisdom for the whole island.

The setting of the film is beautiful, it makes a city dweller like me want to go there and live the simple life implied in the story. If the life on this island could stay the same then all would be well and happy but war brings hatred and destruction. War is not the only thing that brings destruction to this idyllic location, after the war is over we get fur
ther destruction in earthquake. Maybe I would be better living here!

The music on this film is a major part with the captain being a musician. We have troops of soldiers singing together no matter what they are doing be it in the washroom, on the beach or travelling around in jeeps. Then there is the Mandolin playing of the captain which there is far too little of!

One thing I would criticise in this film is the fact that the Italians although they are occupiers seem to be more like friends but the Germans are a totally different breed of people. I can not believe that the national differences could be so great. There is one part of the film which I felt dragged, but the rest of the film was great.

The other problem with this film is you do not know when people are speaking Greek, Italian or German and yet the language difference is an important part of the story. We do see the Captain translating at one part of the film but every one in the film talks English all the time.!

As I said at the start this is not a film of the book just based on the book so the story is a shallower one than the book but none the less very enjoyable. I am glad I watched this film and did not listen to people who told me that it would be a disappointment. This film was an excellent choice for Valentines Day.

Summary: