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“Captain Corelli’s Mandolin” takes place during WWII, when the Italians under Mussolini’s rule had become allies with the Germans under Hitler, and invaded Greece’s Mediterranean coast, including the Island of Cephallonia. Legions of Italian soldiers came to the once tranquil island and took over people’s homes and the island’s City Hall.
Captain Antonio Corelli, an Italian officer with a passion for Italian opera and a love for playing the mandolin, is sent to live with the village doctor and his well-educated and strong-willed daughter, Pelagia. Pelagia had been engaged to her childhood sweetheart, a local fisherman who left for the war, giving her no word of his return to anyone, no letters, and broke her heart when he came back, only to leave her again to fight in the war.
At first Pelagia is offended by the intrusion of the Italian army, but she slowly warms up to Captain Corelli’s charm, as they are forced to share her father’s home. The Italian troops slowly become part of the community, sharing in dancing and fun in the center of the village, and Pelagia realizes that she and her Italian soldier have fallen in love with one another.
When the Italian troops surrender to the United States and to Great Britain, the Italians face trouble with the Germans entering Greece, and they must risk their lives to save themselves and the Island from being taken under Nazi rule.
The film, directed by John Madden, stars Nicholas Cage as Captain Corelli and Penelope Cruz as Pelagia, and is a touching love story during the time of war with pain and suffering surrounding their two different ancient cultures in one beautiful country setting. I highly recommend this movie, as the plot was interesting and worth seeing, and the settings seen in the film were amazing.
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