This a Covid-19 2020 minireview!
“If you love your wife, my advice is be nice to her. Bring in the wood before she asks you for it. If she is cold, then put a shawl around her shoulders.And bring her a flower every time you come back from the field.” – Iannis
Number of Times Seen – 1 (21 Dec 2020)
Brief Synopsis – During World War II, an Italian force occupies Greece where love forms between an Italian soldier and a local woman.
Bottom Line – Interesting story that shows how the Germans treated their own allies during the war. The film’s love story aspect doesn’t work because there is no chemistry what so ever between Nicholas Cage and Penelope Cruz. John Hurt stand out here as the narrator and father of Cruz. The story moves along at a really slow pace and doesn’t help make us care about the characters or anything they do here. Christian Bale is wasted here as Cruz’s fiance who goes off to war. perhaps the novel that this film is base on is able to strengthen the love story aspect of the story, but they don;t succeed in doing so on film.
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Roger Michell was originally set to direct, but then suffered a heart attack. John Madden stepped in to replace him. Michell even threw a little Easter egg into his previous movie when he was still scheduled to make this one. He had Hugh Grant reading the novel in one scene in Notting Hill (1999). (From IMDB)
Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)
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