Hey folks, Harry here with Bemistape in New York reporting in on one of Uncle Harvey's pets. This is a co-production between Universal and Miramax... and it was supposed to be coming out in 2001... but is it ready in time for an Oscar push? Hell... I guess we'll know for sure in about a month... when it starts becoming time for the initial ad pushes to come... But from the sound of our man in New York... this is really quite something. Now we just have to wait and see. Before you read this review, you should know that while it is ecstatic... it is also complete in terms of spoilers and plot info... so you may want to hold and read a less spoiler filled review... till then though... here's Bemistape and what sounds like a great movie (the script was)....
Harry, Bemistape here...
Allow me to explain precisely how I got into this screening. Greenwich Village is typically crawling with people on a Friday night, and last Friday I was one of them. While I was walking past the big UA multiplex this girl jumps out in front of me and says “HEY! Want to see a free movie!?!?!” I say “YES!” See, I’m a college student, and as other college students will attest to- anything free is good to me.
I get my choice between three films: Jackie Chan’s “Legend of Drunken Master”, which isn’t really my thing, that Ed Harris biopic of Jackson Pollack, which would have been bearable had I been either an art major on sedatives, or “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”, with Nick Cage, Penelope Cruz (or as I call her, Penny Cruz), John Hurt and Christian Bale. I know that John Madden directed this, and I like Nicholas Cage in non-Bruckheimer productions, so I decide that this is the free movie for me. So I RSVP through the number on the invitation, and I show up to the showing at the Crown Gotham Theatre here in the city Wednesday night. It was packed, seriously. I don’t know if there are a lot of fans of the movie, or just a lot of cracked out people there hoping to see Snake Eyes II. So we wait, and wait, and wait, then finally they start the movie.
My comments:
First off, I’ve worked as a projectionist before, and this was a darn fine print. I was under the impression that the film would be choppy, and not well put together. No, this one seemed as close to a final version as is possible.
The story is about Pelagia, Cruz’s character, and her life on the Greek island of Cepphalonia. We open on a village religious ceremony where wackos and disabled people are being healed, which segues into the town’s real healer, Pelagia’s father Dr. Iannis (John Hurt), who says “it’s all psychological.” John Hurt should seriously be looking forward to a supporting actor nomination, as his is the best and most well-rounded performance in the film. Not only is he a wonderful source of comic relief, but he's the moral center. You like this man for having atypical views in this rigid society, of his belief in true love, in his medical practice, and his affection for his daughter. When Pelagia announces that Mandras (Christian Bale) wishes to ask his permission to marry, he replies “what do I care? He’s not marrying me!”
Pelagia is convinced that she’s in love with the simple-minded Mandras, and though her father protests that she doesn’t really love him, she insists that they be allowed to marry. Mandras is that guy you knew in high school, the charismatic jock that all the girls assumed they love. He's wild and charming and funny, and loves Pelagia a great deal, but he's also stupid, and rash, and prone to bitter anger. It's really an awkward mix, because the character is actually quite fascinating, but Christian Bale, while he is excellent in the role, is an Englishman. He is not Greek. No amount of pancake makeup can turn him into a Greek. It's extremely distracting for him to try to be Greek, because as you watch the film you don't think "that's Mandras, the Greek guy", you think "that's that white guy Christian Bale playing a Greek guy named Mandras."
Nonetheless, it's not so distracting as it ruins the movie. This is all taking place early on in World War II, as the Italian army is working it's way through Greece. Mandras goes off to war to fight the Italians, with the understanding that when he returns, he and Pelagia are to marry. But as time goes by, Pelagia's many many heartfelt letters go unanswered (unbeknownst to her, Mandras can neither read or write). She loses faith, and no longer loves him. Time goes on, and no word from him.
Italy eventually defeats Greece, and a battery of Italian soldiers comes to occupy Cepphalonia. They are led by the friendly, jovial Captain Corelli, played by Cage. Now first off, Cage is great here, even if the Italian accent sounds a bit forced. Nonetheless, this is a return for him to happy-go-lucky, goofy characters that he played early on in his career (before someone told him he was an action hero). Corelli and his men are all decent guys, and as opposed to their German counterparts, genuinely feel bad for having to interrupt the lives of the people of the island. Nonetheless, the Greeks are still bitter about the loss, and I'll tell you right now, if this movie gets as popular as it deserves, the surrender scene at the town courthouse is easily, easily, easily going to be lodged into the public's mind. Extremely funny, really was.
(if you're interested in knowing, the town elders pass along a message to Cage to "fuck off"...and it goes on from there)
Corelli, as a high ranking officer, is to be quartered in Iannis and Pelagia's house. It's then that we start to get a grip on his personality, and realize that in truth, the war for them is just a civic duty, and that they actually anxiously await Italy's loss so that they can go home. This really is quite the opposite of what most views of the Axis powers are in mainstream movies. There's even a mildly likeable German officer named Gunther (John Morrissey), who, while indoctrinated in the Nazi race philosophy, still finds himself attracted to a Greek.
Pelagia is at first very standoffish with Corelli, essentially refusing to give the nice guy the time of day. Things are complicated even more when Mandras returns home, embittered and injured and rough. He hates the Italians most of all, and eventually leaves once again to start a rebel faction.
Meanwhile, Pelagia starts to have inklings of feelings for the Captain, especially after a heated confrontation over his proclivity to sing and dance at every occasion. Their cultures are different, but at heart he is just a decent man trying to impress a girl. At an impromptu village gathering he plays, on his mandolin, a piece he wrote for her, confessing his love for her to the village. This throws her off, but eventually they come together ("I'm tired of fighting this", she says) and become lovers.
Then, everything changes. Italy surrenders to the Allies, which is great news to Corelli and the men. However, Germany is still fighting the war, and they take control over Italy's conquered land. Corelli's friend Gunther now finds himself having to force the Italians to give up not only their weapons, but they are afraid, their freedom. This leads to Corelli and his men leading an offensive along with Mandras' group, and after they lose, are captured and executed, Corelli finds himself the only survivor (and very badly wounded). His demeanor and overall attitude changes because of this, and he loses, in many ways, the sweet humanity that made him so great. I'll not describe the plot much further, but I will say that the film's ending is a little unclear, and could use some clarification as to what happens with everyone. Still, you get a sense of what their future will be, even if it's a bit rushed.
Okay, you just got a summary of the film, which you could have gotten from the book. How was the movie? INCREDIBLE. We're seriously looking at a Best Picture contender for next year. I thought going in that this was going to be an English Patient-ish sad, gloomy story, but it really was just like Shakespeare in Love, with that goofy, light-hearted sort of realism to it. Nothing in this movie feels like it couldn't have really happened the way it did.
I was under the impression going in that Nick Cage would try to be deep and dark to get another Oscar. No, he did SO well because he brought such inherent sweetness and kindness to the role, so much so that when bad things happen to him you really, really feel horrible for him. Pelagia pulls a gun on him at one point, and you can tell how frightened he is, for as he mentions afterwards "I've never pointed a gun at anyone before. You must be very frightened." Seriously, we could be seeing another Oscar for him, along with John Hurt, who was so incredible as Iannis. He deserves it the most, I really can't underline that more.
Penny Cruz (damn I hope that catches on) was the the driving force in the movie, and while she really was excellent, the part didn't require much of her. I got the impression that while she may be a good actress, she wasn't used to her full potential here. Any Mediterraneanish actress could have played this role.
Things I didn't like about the movie:
You'll be surprised at how violent this movie really is. It's not Saving Private Ryan, but it's got more gore than pretty well any of Tarantino's movies. There are two ways to look at it- like Private Ryan, it demonstrates what war and battle really is like, and what happened to these people. However, I really, really thought that it was ill-placed in this movie. This is a sweet, light-hearted movie, and characters we like and women getting their heads shot off as well as a mass execution scene are really a bit much. Subtlty would work sooo much better for this movie. Think Life is Beautiful, which the post-screening questionairre references. You didn't see much there, but you knew what was happening. You didn't need to see Benigni getting shot to take in the full impact. I really hope Madden takes a bit of that down.
Also, there is a rape scene, and while I thought it was well placed and appropriate, I thought it was the most awkward looking thing on earth. Rapes shouldn't be comedical looking, and the angle and shot on this one almost was. They should give some thought to reshooting that, in my opinion.
The music here is quite simple. No large flourishes or big numbers here, just simple, vaguely Mediterranean music that works well with the material.
Visuals here are gorgeous. I don’t know if they actually filmed in Greece or not, but wherever they did, it looks spectacular. This has the same look, in a way, as Shakespeare in Love, the same visual tone and texture.
All in all, I know this is pretty long, but I think the film really deserves it. Honestly, be excited about this movie. I'm quite quite positive that even in the version it's at right now it'd be a Best Picture nominee, and once it's truncated a tad, Madden should get another statue for his mantle. I give this my highest possible recommendation.
Bemistape
