Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Regarding the Axis powers of WWII, we have always been willing to cut the Italians a big old break. The Japanese pulled a sneak attack on us at Pearl Harbor, and the Germans were responsible for the holocaust, but we like to think that the Italians were basically good people who just got carried away by Mussolini's speeches. And so, an actual incident during the war, when the Italians teamed up with the Greeks to fight against their former allies, the Germans, fits right in with our disposition to grant the Italians favorable treatment.In the movie, the Italian soldiers that occupy a Greek island have not seen any real action, but that is not surprising, because I have never seen an Italian soldier kill an American in a World War II movie. Moreover, they don't seem to care about the war. They just want to sing opera. Isn't that nice? The Greeks also seem to like the Italians better. Nobody seems to have a problem with the fact that Palagia is obviously in love with an Italian officer, Captain Corelli, and even has sex with him; but another girl, who just gives a German officer a friendly kiss on the cheek, is hanged by the Greeks for being a traitor.Reality or no reality, the decision by the Italians to fight with the Greeks against the Germans rather than simply handing over their arms when Mussolini surrenders turns out to be a big mistake, because except for Corelli, they are all slaughtered by the Germans for being traitors. But then, that only makes us like the Italians even more.

While it's not an Oscar-level movie, I think this film is underrated. I agree with those who felt that Nicholas Cage's accent left something to be desired. And I agree that Penelope Cruz's performance was hardly stellar. But there are lots worse films out there.And this film does have some very good qualities. It's a war movie that's less about war than it is about the every day tragedies that befall the locals who are caught up in war. The cinematography and scenery is excellent, and on location. And it reminds us that even in war, soldiers are still people, and not necessarily very different than ourselves. Although the film has a happy ending, there is a great deal of tragedy in between, so there is a sense of realism here.Nicholas Cage's performance here is actually quite good, even if the accent isn't...and I say that as no fan of Cage. John Hurt is good as the doctor, Christian Bale very good as the young fiancé, and Gunther Weber is fine as the Nazi soldier with the most contact with the people. It's also good to see Irene Papas as an authentic Greek.I think this is a pretty decent film. A balance between the horror of war and the joy that can be found in many adverse situations. Recommended, though it may not end up on your DVD shelf.

The main problem with 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' is that it focuses primarily on the romance between Corelli and Pelagia and that too is half-baked. What is it that draws Pelagia towards him is too unclear. Is it just his musical talent or his zest? The film is set against the backdrop of a war between the Germans and Italians in a Greek island but the war is given less significance and what we see appears very sketchy. The entire film appears too sketchy, melodramatic and clichéd. Much of it is also historically inaccurate.On the technical front it is well executed. The cinematography of the beautiful exotic locations is breathtaking. The score is terrific. Where acting is concerned, Penelope Cruz can't seem to lose her Spanish accent (she's playing a Greek character) but her performance is otherwise wonderful. John Hurt and Christian Bale are equally marvelous. Nicolas Cage is a miscast. His Italian accent, energetic personality, overdone non-verbal gestures all yield to a caricature rather than a character.Perhaps director John Madden was pressured to fit the entire novel into a two hour period and he chose to focus on the romance more to draw a larger crowd. I can't shake the feeling that perhaps someone like Anthony Mingella would have made a better and more complete film of it.

This excellent adaptation of Louis de Berniere's book is not as good as the book. It is incomplete, and the script is cut with a chainsaw. I gave it a 9. So you need to multiply 9 by 5 or 6 (on a total of 10) to have an idea of what the book deserves. 45? Yeah that's about it.Really. The book is a masterpiece of literature and the film chops a major character down to a few lines, another character to a few moments, and major historical plots to insignificant references. Plus the book has the courage of a sad ending whereas the film goes to a happy ending, and still a happy end is what you'd wish because the characters "deserve" it. I gave the film a 9 because managing to make a coherent film when you have thrown away (for lack of time) two thirds of a script and still make such a wonderful film, with actors that fit so well in their role, a film where you will cry and where you will be afraid like you're 6 and everything that happens on the screen is for real, please please forgive them for salvaging the core of the script and making you want to read the book, which will keep you fascinated and remain in your memory for the rest of your days.The story - but do you really need this in a nutshell? - is about acts of heroism and love and the horrors of the war. Reducing it to a love story is just this, reducing it, and it certainly does not deserve it. Save money, buy Captain Corelli's Mandolin DVD + the book and remember the film is only there so that you can have the joy to read the book, one of the best works ever written.