Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (2001)

We got this free from the library, and man am I glad.

Starring Nicolas Cage, Christian Bale, and Penelope Cruz, this movie is set in Greece in World War II. A love story across two very different cultures, Cage comes with his fellow Italian brigade to peacefully occupy Greece. Cage and Cruz fall in love, and then all hell breaks loose.

Cage is a man of peace, happiness, and singing. He sings with his men, and beautifully plays his mandolin for most of the movie. But then the Germans occupy this little town, and he starts to realize that his time has come. The climax of the movie being when his whole squad is instantly, without warning, executed by and firing squad.

This movie feels a lot longer than two hours. Cage does a good job acting, but I wouldn’t even recommend this as a good love story. The movie seems a little convoluted, and ends in a sudden sort of way. I didn’t feel attached to the characters in this story, or empathize at all with them, and that is so important in a good love story. I would definitely pass on this one.

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• Guarding Tess (1994)
• Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)
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• Raising Arizona (1987)
• Matchstick Men (2003)

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