Captain Corelli
CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN
TEACHERS’ NOTES
This study guide is aimed primarily at students of English Literature, who are studying Louis de Bernières’s novel Captain Corelli’s Mandolin in the second year of Advanced GCSE studies but will be useful for any students wishing to look at the way in which a novel is adapted for the screen. The guide focuses on the following areas: From novel to screen: Narrative adaptation Characters Representation of nationalities Representation of war Music Language Humour
FILM SYNOPSIS
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin traces a love that begins uneasily between a conscripted officer of the occupying Italian army, Captain Antonio Corelli (Nicolas Cage), and Pelagia, a strong-willed, ambitious young Cephallonian, played by Penélope Cruz. When Corelli and his company of men arrive on the unspoiled island, they think of their stay as a kind of Grecian holiday with the war a distant radio dispatch. At first Pelagia and the other villagers resent these uninvited guests, but ultimately, the Italians’ charm and passion for life wear away the divisions of nationality and circumstance, and Pelagia comes to see Corelli for the man he is: full of love for life, for his music, and perhaps, even for her. Inevitably, the war crashes upon the idyllic shores of Cephallonia, forever upsetting its tranquility, for the inhabitants as well as for the comfortably garrisoned Italians. The tender connection that has grown between Antonio and Pelagia is also threatened. As Captain Corelli faces the violent realities of warfare, he must confront the possibility of leaving Cephallonia and the woman he has come to love. Pelagia knows that she, too, is powerless in the face of war and must say goodbye to her lover, with no certainty that they will ever meet again. Director John Madden UK release 4th May 2001 Certificate 15 Running time 140 mins
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BEFORE SEEING THE FILM
CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN is an enormous literary success. First published in 1995 it
TEACHERS’ NOTES
This study guide is aimed primarily at students of English Literature, who are studying Louis de Bernières’s novel Captain Corelli’s Mandolin in the second year of Advanced GCSE studies but will be useful for any students wishing to look at the way in which a novel is adapted for the screen. The guide focuses on the following areas: From novel to screen: Narrative adaptation Characters Representation of nationalities Representation of war Music Language Humour
FILM SYNOPSIS
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin traces a love that begins uneasily between a conscripted officer of the occupying Italian army, Captain Antonio Corelli (Nicolas Cage), and Pelagia, a strong-willed, ambitious young Cephallonian, played by Penélope Cruz. When Corelli and his company of men arrive on the unspoiled island, they think of their stay as a kind of Grecian holiday with the war a distant radio dispatch. At first Pelagia and the other villagers resent these uninvited guests, but ultimately, the Italians’ charm and passion for life wear away the divisions of nationality and circumstance, and Pelagia comes to see Corelli for the man he is: full of love for life, for his music, and perhaps, even for her. Inevitably, the war crashes upon the idyllic shores of Cephallonia, forever upsetting its tranquility, for the inhabitants as well as for the comfortably garrisoned Italians. The tender connection that has grown between Antonio and Pelagia is also threatened. As Captain Corelli faces the violent realities of warfare, he must confront the possibility of leaving Cephallonia and the woman he has come to love. Pelagia knows that she, too, is powerless in the face of war and must say goodbye to her lover, with no certainty that they will ever meet again. Director John Madden UK release 4th May 2001 Certificate 15 Running time 140 mins
1
BEFORE SEEING THE FILM
CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN is an enormous literary success. First published in 1995 it
References: to the novel were taken from Louis de Bernières’ Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, (Vintage, London, 1998) Written by Kate Domaille and Anita Abbott Produced by Film Education for Buena Vista International (UK) Ltd. The content of this study guide is © Film Education 13