August 18, 2001

By Veronica Mixon

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At first look, a love story set against the backdrop of war seems to be a copy-cat of Pearl Harbor which opened at the beginning of summer but CAPTAIN CORELLI'S MANDOLIN has a charming and unique flavor to it. It's pretty and romantic -- and it has a decent story. But unfortunately, only John Hurt manages to lose himself enough in the role of a Greek doctor to be believable. Everyone else is poorly cast.

Set on a tiny of Cephallonia in the Ionian Sea, it concerns the Greeks who fought against the Italian and German Armies and therefore, gives a fresh slant to a familiar tale. The idyllic life of Pelagia (Penelope Cruz), her fiancé, Mandras (Christian Bale), her father, Dr. Iannis (John Hurt) and Drosoula, her future mother-inlaw (Irene Papas) are disrupted when Greece enters the WWII conflict. Pelagia is madly in love with the simple peasant Mandras and wants to marry quickly. Her father cautions her saying that the class difference will ruin her happiness and that she should wait. He's always imagined that she'd marry a foreigner. But, Pelagia ignores her father and gets engaged before Mandras leaves to fight with the Greek rebels.

The news that the Greeks have defeated the Italians doesn't end the war. Instead, a garrison of Italians and Germans descend on the island. Captain Corelli (Nicholas Cage) leads a platoon that is more interested in music - perhaps because that is what they did in civilian life. He openly flirts with Pelagia even before he's forced to live in her father's house. Despite her rejection of Corelli, Pelagia is drawn to him because of the beautiful music that he creates and suddenly, her father sees what her future will be like.

As the war intensifies and then, ends elsewhere, the island is suddenly under siege. The Italians band with the Greeks against the Germans who do not accept defeat lightly and Pelagia must face the two men in her life.

CAPTAIN CORELLI'S MANDOLIN is a moderately amusing romantic comedy with some exciting war scenes at the end. But they can't compare with Pearl Harbor or Enemy At the Gate. It's the touching chemistry between Nicholas Cage and Penelope Cruz that makes the film worth watching. Cruz, the dark Spanish beauty that has been paired with several Hollywood leading men, finally ignites some genuine fire in this coupling. However, her accent is terrible and there are times when you can't understand her English. She's been touted as the next hot thing for two years but frankly, I haven't seen it.

Nicholas Cage is surprising ineffective as Corelli, a man who has ignored the true horrors of war, until he's faced with the pain that comes with loving Pelagia. He's miscasted -- and so is Christain Bale, who works hard at being a peasant -- and he seems to be uncomfortable in the role despite the chemistry with Cruz.