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Michael
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Check out Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Pardon me, but is it really August?
Kids are already back in school, and Captain Corelli's Mandolin is
in the theaters, a film as warm and moving as a melody played on a mandolin.
It's not at all the kind of loud, violent flick that comes along at the
end of the summer to give the kids one last thrill before they head back to
school. This is just what we need
to while away a couple of pleasant hours in a cool, dark place--a love story set
in a war, rather than a war story crammed into a love story, which Pearl
Harbor was.
In
fact, I'm going to guess that people who failed to appreciate Pearl Harbor
(including your faithful raver) will appreciate this film, and that those who
rallied round the earlier effort will not respond to this. The earlier film
depended on special effects and loud, often irrelevant spectacle, punctuated by
a love story. This film,
based on a beloved novel by Louis de Bernières (the fans of which, I am sure,
will howl in protest), is a quiet study of human feelings and faces in an
exquisitely photographed (by Oscar-winner John Toll) setting, a Greek island in
1940. We are back in World War II
territory, but a bit of territory that we Americans don't know very well.
Captain Antonio Corelli (Nicolas Cage) is part of a small group of Axis
troops who reach the Greek island, Cephallonia.
Despite a conflict of wills between the locals and the invaders, this is
a very unusual war film: civility, decency, just plain old-fashioned good
manners are at the center of the tale. Even
the German (David Morrissey) is a not-unlikable chap.
And then there is Pelagia (Penelope Cruz), daughter of the local doctor
(John Hurt), in whose house Corelli is billeted.
When Mandra (Christian Bale), to whom she is engaged, returns to the
island, he is as puzzled as Pelagia by Corelli's attitude and behavior.
Corelli, with his music and zest for life and beauty (whether of
landscapes or of Ms. Cruz), brings humanity to the tense situation, humanity to
a war. And, need we say, that makes
him very attractive to a sensitive young woman like Pelagia.
This
bare-bones summary of the story cannot do the film justice.
The film has a rich texture of image, word, and feeling. Although such a word may kill a film's box office appeal, it
is poetic. Unlike Pearl Harbor,
however, it is not never sentimental. Its
two hours move along at a fairly snappy pace, for such languid proceedings, a
pace which suddenly changes, even drags, near the end.
This is actually a film with a theme, with themes, but themes handled so
subtly that they can't be reduced to easy statements.
The film explores rather than preaches, as it traces, almost seeks out
relationships, either between two countries or between a woman and a man.
There is even nobility, at least a sense that nobility is possible.
Cruz and Hurt bring a nobility of their own to their characterizations.
Cage (one of my favorite actors), however, just doesn't succeed as the
perhaps too likable, too lyrical Corelli. Perhaps
the character comes across better on the page than on the screen, but Cage,
dragged down by a terrible accent, comes across like Chico Marx.
And that is not a good thing in what is an otherwise very good,
pleasantly surprising end of summer film.
Keep
your feet dry, your heart full of noble thoughts, and if noble thoughts seem
few, you can find some in Captain Corelli's Mandolin.
POPCORN
If we updated the story to our digital age, we might have to rename the film Kid Cor's MP3 Player. If you have accumulated some music in various digital formats (only legally and ethically, I trust) you might find the free software at Musicmatch to be of use and interest. It is another example of the great freebies that you can still find on the Internet (which has lost so many of its freebies). Companies still give out free basic versions of their programs in hopes that you will find them so good that you will upgrade to the for-pay version.