Critiques that miss the point of it all ...

Most of the critiques come from people who loved the book, and were disappointed by how much the film ignored or glossed over. I for one was sad by the diminished role of Carlo, and the way the filmmakers tried to turn Mandras into a good character, instead of the slime he was.

Gene Hunt: She's as nervous as a very small nun at a penguin shoot

Penelope Cruz's acting in this movie was beyond terrible. If she'd just try to get rid of her horrible accent, it could be better, but she makes no effort at all.

All I know is that I understood what the characters were saying in the film. I don't pay much attention to a person's accent, unless it sounds too different from all the rest around.

I felt the strain of love between two people who should be hostile with each other being on the opposite sides of a war, I saw how Pelagia (Penelope Cruz) changed from a young, lusty, hopeful woman to one who had to walk in a tight rope during the war and to one who aged considerably when confronted with the horrible realities of war, and finally, to one getting resigned at the impossibility of their relationship.

I sympathized greatly with Mandras (Christian Bale), clean-shaven, dancing in the opening scene, so carefree, so young, so reckless, awakening to the beauty that is Pelagia, besotted and uncouth - then bearded, swaggering and at the same time looking pathetic as the illiterate partisan, rejected by Pelagia and walking dejectedly alone in the night and fading in its blackness.

I saw Corelli (Nicholas Cage) as the army officer in love with music, with life, with Pelagia, trying his best to adapt, to appreciate and recognize the uniqueness of life in Cephallonia, managing to retain his humanity and his inherent goodness in the face of the exigencies of war.

I admired Dr. Iannis (John Hurt) right from his opening scene up to his last one, the all-around doctor of bodily and mental sicknesses and finally as the healer of her daughter's broken heart and spirit.

I saw the film first time on TV - only the last half though - liked what I saw, bought the DVD and have watched it in its entirety, found I appreciated it even more, so have watched it again after a month.

I am nearly finished with the book now, just a little more than 100 pages to go. I've said it in another thread in this board that I agree with the others that the book is really a brilliant masterpiece by Louis de Bernieres. No question about that. But I am eager to re-watch the film again right after I am through with the last page because I have gain just a bit more of an understanding now about the history of the Greeks and the Italians living in Cephallonia during that period of time.

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Truth has an inscrutable,inexorable way of seeking out and revealing Itself into the Light.

Well you do have a point and I tend to be one of those who nitpick history details and so on...but take it from me this one got literally *every* detail wrong (sometimes more than details)...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Hilarious, OP, I like the way your comical mind works.

Let me have a go at it.

In a bold and striking performance, Nicholas Cage reminds us all why we fell in love with him in the 1983 classic, Rumble Fish. Not since Gone With the Wind has an on-screen romance felt so real, and not since Schindler's List have audiences felt the pain and carnage that is caused by war. We the audience are left speechless, with minds and hearts as open as Nicholas Cage's eyes when Captain Corelli meets his true love for the first time. And much like Corelli's journey through this seductive and charming romance, so is our journey into the world of true art in it's purest form. Nic Cage and Penelope Cruz prove one again why they are time and time again referred to as the King and Queen of Acting with their unparalleled chemistry. The couple certainly bring a new meaning to the term "love birds" when their love takes flight.

And in the book he rapes her.