Serene and beautiful,
Captain Corelli's Mandolin is a passionate tale of romance and war
set on a grand, yet intimate scale. Incredibly easy on the eye, the landscape
and characters that toil within it, are honest and sumptuous beyond the
Western viewpoint they are seen from, and serve to integrate the audience
into its spellbinding magic. Cruz as Pelagia is gentle and
lovable; Cage as Corelli (despite 'that' accent) is an appealing, if not
first-choice candidate for our hero, whilst Bale completes the set nicely
as Mandras; perhaps the most intriguing character of them all. Madden's
reworking of Captain Corelli's Mandolin moves easily and expertly
between joviality and serious devastation, as we explore the effects these
have on both the physical landscape and the human spirit; the deterioration
of Mandras being an underplayed but highly significant marker of this.
The first two acts, preoccupied with setting the sun-drenched scene and
Corellis arrival, are engaging but - as with most war-torn love stories
- the substance really comes alive when the first bomb hits, leading to
some heartbreakingly tragic moments. Captain Corellis Mandolin is
a humble, honest love story but has all the unfortunate pitfalls
of a novel dramatisation, this particular text being so tightly woven that
it has proved difficult to unpick. The result however- as a film in its
own right - is a thoroughly enjoyable, emotionally engaging, and highly
fulfilling fairy-tale for the Twentieth Century.
