Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001) Movie Script
This movie and subtitle are rated R for
some violence, sexuality and language.
How long have you
been deaf in this ear?
Since as long
as I can remember.
Shut up!
Keep still while the doctor
is examining you.
I need a fish hook...
...about the right size
for a mullet...
...with a long shank,
and a hammer.
A fish hook?
A hammer?
Here's a fish hook...
...and a hammer.
Right.
Now keep still.
A pea.
It is very papilionaceous,
is it not?
He must have stuck it
in his ear when he was a child.
Oh, my God, it's loud.
I mean, everything is loud.
My own voice is loud.
Your deafness is cured.
A very satisfactory operation.
I've had an operation?
Ha! I'm the only person I know
who's had an operation.
It feels as if my whole head...
...has filled up with spring water,
all cold and clear.
Talk some sense when the doctor
has been kind enough to cure you.
All these years
thinking you are deaf.
But now there will be no excuses
when I ask you to remember...
...to collect something
on your way home.
Or to stoke up the fire
before we go to church.
Perhaps now
you will hear me...
...when I say to you,
"Mend the chair, Stamatis."
"Fix the leaking roof, Stamatis."
And now I won't have
to speak so loud...
Antonio,
do you remember our island?
It does not change.
On the feast day
of Saint Gerasimos...
...we still bring our sick
to the holy place...
...and pray that
their suffering may cease.
When Pelagia was a child...
...I promised her that I would
write a history of Cephallonia...
...but somehow I still
have not found the time.
I wanted her to understand
how a land so peaceful...
...could be shattered
by earthquakes and war.
I wanted her to understand
why sometimes the gods bless us...
...and why they sometimes
become angry...
...and shake us,
and fill our lives with pain.
I want her to learn the lesson
that nature teaches us.
That we should not ask
why we are wounded...
...only if the wound
can be healed.
A purely psychological
phenomenon.
How do you
explain the miracle?
Can Lenin cure the mad?
Can Stalin heal the afflicted?
It's obvious.
It's a set-up!
To keep people
enslaved to religion.
You don't have to shout.
I'm not deaf.
I want to see the cannon again.
- Yeah!
- Cannon!
All right.
I will need stones
from the street.
As many as you can find.
Be right back.
Ready, children?
Cover your ears.
Ow, that hurts!
Oh, that hurts!
Will he die?
Eventually, one of these days,
like all of us.
Turn over.
Good, strong gluteals.
Pelagia.
Tell us about the gluteals.
Please, come closer.
Have a good look.
Fetch your friends.
Everybody's welcome.
Gluteals.
Maximus, medius, minimus.
The maximus is the external
surface of the ilium...
...between anterior
and interior gluteal lines.
Mandras!
- Iatre...
- He'll be fine.
They told me you were shot.
I thought I was going to die.
I don't know why you can't
keep out of trouble! I don't know!
Iatre, you should count yourself
lucky you don't have a son.
Boys, they never grow up.
Look at me.
Old...
before my time.
- Kalimera, Pelagia.
- Kailmera.
It's too hot.
The fish are all hiding
in the rocks, or...
...keeping cool
at the bottom of the sea.
No, Mandras!
No! Put me down!
Put me down!
There are reports today...
...that a Greek battleship, the Eli has been
torpedoed by an Italian submarine...
...despite the fact that Greece
is not yet involved in the war.
Prime Minister Metaxas has protested
strongly to Mussolini's government in Rome...
...which has denied
responsibility for the attack.
And there are continued reports of fighting
between Greek and Italian soldiers...
...on the Greek-Albanian border.
But in Athens this morning...
...the Italian ambassador
once again denied...
What are they saying?
The Italians are in Albania,
close to the border.
They have reported
some fighting.
There!
You hear that?
And they are saying they are
not about to declare war.
There. What did I say?
They want to catch us sleeping.
They want to creep up on us
in the dead of night!
- You filthy liar!
- Your father was a goat!
Shut up!
If you two don't stop trading insults,
I'm going to start taking coffee at home.
Mandras wants to marry me.
I told him
he'd have to ask you.
I don't want to marry him.
You don't like him.
You are both too young.
Everyone is too young
when they marry.
I have often thought...
...that you would only ever be able
to marry happily with a foreigner.
- A dentist from Norway...
- A dentist from Norway...
...or something.
Mandras is not your equal.
And he would expect
to be better than his wife.
He is a man, after all.
I will tell you now
what I will say to him.
I am not giving away a dowry.
Who marries without a dowry?
You should marry for love.
I love Mandras.
So what am I supposed to do?
Go off to Mandras' mother's house
with nothing but a bag of clothes?
Oh, and my goat.
I'll never be able
to show my face.
I'll be the laughing stock
of Cephallonia.
You can imagine
how people will talk?
I don't know
how you will bear the shame.
There is going to be a war.
Terrible things happen in wars.
Use this to defend yourself.
And, if necessary,
use it against yourself.
Your marriage
will have to wait.
I look around me.
I see fishermen.
I see farmers.
I see strong, healthy men
who are born free.
But today your freedom
is in danger.
The Italian Army
sweeps through Albania...
...and her troops get ready to
cross the frontiers of Greece.
Exo Mussolini!
Exo Mussolini!
If you care
about your country...
...then you must fight
to defend her.
Join the war in Albania.
Fight for your mothers,
your sweethearts...
...your wives, your children.
Fight for the freedom...
...for all Greek people to live their
lives with dignity and respect!
When I come back
from the war...
...we will get married.
And I will build a house
for Pelagia...
...on the land
that belonged to my father.
I know we are different.
I don't know about the world.
Where have I been?
What could I know?
I don't know how to say
what I feel inside.
I don't know how to tell you
what is in here.
But I think... I know... Pelagia...
...I love you.
Tomorrow I leave for the war.
Pelagia, come
and dance with me.
I'll write.
I promise.
And promise that
you will write to me.
"My darling, you have not written
since that day I saw you off."
"And I am so terrified that I am not
getting any letters from you..."
"...because you have been
wounded or taken prisoner."
"And I have nightmares
that you are dead."
"Summer has turned to winter..."
"...and I am writing
my hundredth letter to you."
"The wounded who have returned
bring news of terrible conditions."
"Freezing cold, no food."
"But they bring
no news from you."
"Every day I wait
for the mail from Argostoli..."
"...and every day
there is nothing."
"And I feel as if I am going
mad with worry and fear."
"I try not to lose hope..."
"...but I long to feel something,
even if it is only pain."
We won!
We won!
It's over!
We've beaten them in Albania.
Look!
8,000 of us against 14,000 Italians,
and we forced them to withdraw.
What?
Hitler will never let
his lapdog be humiliated.
He will come to Mussolini's aid.
"I have written
this letter a dozen times..."
"...and a dozen times
I have thrown it away."
"I don't know how
to describe my feelings."
"It's as if I've been waiting
a hundred years to hear from you."
"Waiting a hundred years
for you to return."
Pelagia.
This is hopeless.
It's all wrong!
Following the great defeat
of the Italians in Albania...
...Hitler's bombers have
counterattacked...
...and the German Army has driven a path
through to the Greek capital, Athens.
A large number of Greek ships were destroyed
in the bombing of the nearby Port of Piraeus.
On April 27, the Athenian Military
Commissioner General Calvacos...
...officially handed over the keys of the
ancient city to his German counterpart....
...Lieutenant Colonel
Von Zephyr...
...and preparations are underway
for a carve-up of the territory.
Hitler retains direct control
of much of northern Greece...
...including Salonica and
the southern island of Crete.
The rest of Greece will be under
the control of Hitler's ally, Mussolini...
...though the Germans will retain
the final authority.
Bella bambina at two o'clock!
Captain Corelli.
"Fuck off."
Have him tell the mayor...
...that unless we receive the surrender
of the town's authorities in five minutes...
...we'll mobilise our troops
and storm the building.
The mayor says if you don't
know what "fuck off" means...
...then come inside
and we'll show you.
"We refuse to surrender to a nation
that we have defeated in Albania..."
"...and we reserve the right to surrender
to a German officer of significant rank."
"So fuck off. "
Who is this?
Who are you?
Captain Gunther Weber.
Liaison officer
with the Grenadiers at Lixouri.
"Captain" is not what we
would call a significant rank.
There are only 200
Germans on the island...
...and Captain Weber is the highest
ranking officer amongst them.
Our decision is...
...that surrendering to Captain
Weber's dog is more appropriate...
...than surrendering to an Italian.
Chi del gitano
i giorni abbella...
Chi del gitano
i giorni abbella...
Chi... Chi...
i giorni abbella...
Carlo Guercio
reporting for duty, sir.
- Carlo, where have you served?
- Albania.
Albania?
None of us have seen
any action yet.
I was with the Julia Division.
Then you have fought enough
for all of us.
Carlo, can you sing?
Let's hear you sing.
O bambino caro...
Mi piace bello... bello...
No matter.
Everyone in our battery is
a member of the opera society.
These are the rules
of engagement:..
One, all those called
to regular musical fatigues...
...shall be obliged to play
a musical instrument.
Uh, spoons, the helmet...
...comb, paper,
and so on, and so on.
Two, anyone who says that
Donizetti is better than Verdi...
...shall be required
to sing "Funiculi Funicula"...
...and other songs about railways.
Three... um...
...three... um... ah.
This is an outrage!
Quite impossible.
It's out of the question.
Sir, the fact is,
I'm sorry to say...
...and with great regret,
that my orders are...
...to billet an officer
in your home.
I am a doctor.
This is my surgery.
I don't have room for guests!
- Sir, these are my orders!
- I don't care!
I don't recognise
your authority!
Wait a minute.
What is wrong with your feet?
I have terrible corns.
My boots are killing me.
You are a quartermaster. You must
have access to medical supplies.
To treat your corns,
I will need morphine...
...hypodermic syringes,
sulphur ointment...
...surgical spirit, neosalvarsan.
Iodine, scalpels, collodian,
bandages, lint.
Perhaps your officer
could bring supplies...
...when he comes.
My father is not here.
He'll be home this evening.
You don't even know who I am.
Mandras?
I walked all the way...
from Epirus.
No boots.
I wrote to you every day.
A hundred letters.
And not a single reply.
I never learned...
...to read or write.
Oh, Lord, what a stench.
It's worse than pigs.
You see, Pelagia, what a state
these men get into...
...when there are no women
to look after them.
And I don't care
if he's been to war.
If we catch his fleas and lice,
I'm going to skin him alive.
Ammonia, oil of sassafras,
and zinc for scabies.
You're a woman and...
and you know so many things.
At least you can see
what you are getting.
Not much of a bargain, is he?
You fall in love
with the person, not the body.
Love enters by the eyes
and also leaves by the eyes.
Take it from me.
We beat the Italians.
We had them running.
But we couldn't
fight the Germans.
If I could cook...
...I would exchange jobs with you.
In fact, I might retire.
Bella bambina!
Forgive me.
Forgive me.
I don't mean to embarrass you.
I'm Captain Antonio Corelli...
...and that man
is one of our heroes.
He has a hundred medals
for saving life...
...and none for taking it.
A brave Italian
is a freak of nature.
Said like a true Greek patriot.
Captain Corelli?
I want a word with you. Now.
I want an explanation.
I want to know why
you have defaced the monument.
What monument?
You have changed
the inscription to Latin.
Do you think you can
so easily erase our history?
Is this how you wage war?
By the chipping away of letters?
- I must protest.
- You cannot protest. There is no excuse.
I was about to protest, because
I was not responsible for it.
Pathetic.
If you could tell me
where I'm going to sleep...
In my daughter's room.
But where will
your daughter sleep?
It's none of your business
where I sleep.
Ah. Tonight I'll sleep
in the yard.
Tomorrow I'll request
alternative accommodation.
I have made an arrangement
with your quartermaster.
You are staying here
whether you like it or not.
But your daughter's bed,
I feel it would not be...
I don't care how you feel.
That is not my problem.
I am not the aggressor.
You understand me?
This is very good.
This is Cephallonian meat pie.
Except that,
thanks to you people...
...it doesn't have any meat in it.
I could bring some food.
A little wine,
perhaps some panettone.
We don't accept food
from the enemy.
Maybe a little panettone.
I am going for a walk.
The curfew starts
in one hour's time.
I was born here.
This is my island.
Aren't you going
to go and arrest him?
He's defying you,
ignoring the curfew.
You're absolutely right.
Quick, get the gun.
Somebody shoot him, shoot him.
Capitano Antonio Corelli.
Now you try.
Capitano Antonio Corelli.
Lemoni!
Oh, what?
Babibaba?
Capitano.
- Capitano.
- S. Antonio.
- Lemoni.
- Antonio.
- Corelli.
- Go home.
Go on.
You can come back later.
Signorina...
...in times of war...
...we have to make the most of what
little innocent pleasure there is.
"I have started
to make a waistcoat for you."
"Eagles and flowers,
embroidered with gold thread."
"But I can't seem
to get them to match up."
"One flower is much bigger."
"One eagle is in a different
place from the other."
"And when I try to make them
more even, it gets worse."
"I just can't get it right."
You could kill him, you know.
He's the enemy.
You could poison him.
No one would ever know how he died.
Dimitri and Spiros have both
left to join the partisans.
They've gone by boat to Patra.
And who knows where from there.
I should be with them.
You're not going anywhere
until you are strong again.
Read the last one.
The last letter you wrote
before I came home.
"My darling..."
"I've heard nothing from you
for such a long time..."
"...and I feel desperate
and helpless..."
"...and I am burning my brains
with worry."
"Yesterday I wrote you
such a long letter..."
"...that said everything perfectly..."
- "...and believe it..."
- Listen.
Mandras!
I can't stay here.
Signorina.
Signorina.
You are drunk.
Ah, yes, I confess.
We have been
drinking, singing...
...generally misbehaving.
I thought you were a soldier.
Captain Antonio Corelli, 33rd Regiment,
Artillery, reporting for duty!
Is everything a joke to you?
No. Not everything.
Captain Corelli, I think this would be a
good time to hear you play the mandolin.
What on earth are you doing?
I was just about to start.
Well, about time, too,
I should think.
The first 45 1/2 bars
are for the orchestra.
"Allegro moderato e grazioso."
You have to imagine
the orchestra.
I'm damned if I can sit through
all that tapping again.
Just play your part.
If I do that, I'll start getting confused
about when I'm supposed to come in...
...and that, in a concert hall,
would be a disaster.
I apologise
for disrupting the concert.
I apologise to each
and every one of you.
To those in the cheapest seats
in the gods...
...to Your Majesties
in your royal boxes...
...draped in your jewellery
and your fine furs.
But I'm damned
if I can imagine an orchestra.
I am going to bed.
Is this where
the captain sleeps?
I was coming to see you.
I'm leaving, Pelagia.
In the morning.
I'll take my boat to Astakos.
- It's not safe.
- I'm a fisherman.
I know those waters
like the back of my hand.
I don't want you to go.
If I die,
I won't have died for nothing.
And if I live, I'll walk
with my head held high...
...for the rest of my life,
and everyone will say:..
..."That's Mandras, who fought
for his country in the war."
I finished your waistcoat.
You can take it now if you want.
The two sides...
...they are not the same.
The Italian captain.
...14,000 of you
against 8,000 of us.
You could have driven us
into the sea.
If it weren't for your
German friends, we would have.
My friends are the men
in my battery.
People I grew up with.
People of my hometown.
So, what do you think
of our island, Captain?
I like your island.
And what do you think
of our girls?
What do you think of my Pelagia?
Goodbye, Pelagia.
My beautiful Pelagia.
Heil Hitler.
Heil Puccini.
I saw your party, I thought
I would come and introduce myself.
You mean, you saw the naked women
and want to come and get a closer look.
We've met before.
The surrender at the town hall.
You are much better at having parties
than you are at negotiating surrender.
Well, we're Italian.
Famous for singing,
eating, making love.
What's your name?
Antonio Corelli.
Grazie.
You Germans always have
the best tobacco, huh?
How many of you are here now?
Approximately 1,200.
Under Colonel Barge.
Here to keep an eye on us.
Doesn't it feel good
to have your allies here?
I thought all you Nazis
had blond hair.
I come from the Tyrol.
Grew up
in the Austrian mountains.
All my family, and my family before them going
back as far as we can remember, have dark hair.
Like Adolf Hilter?
You neglected
to tell me your rank.
I am the breve.
Maximilliano here
is the semibreve.
He is the minim.
Those boys are the crotchets
and the quavers.
Piero here is the semiquaver.
And Carlo is the rest.
The pause between the notes.
In the opera club, we have
our own ranking system...
...but otherwise I am a captain.
33rd Regiment of Artillery.
- Do you sing?
- Oh, no, uh, not really.
Well, maybe, you know...
...on my own.
In the bath.
Well, have a drink.
Be happy.
But just remember, if you ever
express admiration for Wagner...
...you will be shot,
without trial...
...and without leave of appeal.
From the top!
Lemoni...
Come on.
Are you going to shoot me?
It wasn't loaded.
I've never aimed a gun
at anybody.
Never in my life.
It must be very difficult for you
to have to put up with us.
It must be very difficult for you
to have to live with yourself.
You lie in the sun
and swim in the sea...
...and flirt with your prostitutes.
And there are people I know,
people I grew up with...
...who are fighting for their lives
and dying for what they believe in.
And all you do is sing.
What's there to sing about?
We are in the middle of a war,
not an opera house.
And you, you think
you are so cultured...
...with your pasta and your panettone
and your puffed-up opera.
Why don't you take your holiday
on somebody else's island?
What is there to sing about?
There is singing
when babies are baptised...
...when you celebrate a marriage.
Men sing as they work.
Soldiers sing
as they march into battle...
...and there is singing
when people die.
I have always found something
in life worth singing about...
...and for that
I cannot apologise.
For the fact that
I've caused you pain...
...I cannot apologise enough.
I have not been able
to imagine, until now...
...the offence I have given.
- What are those?
- My things.
I can see that.
Why?
I'm going to stay in the
encampment with my men.
I think it will be best.
But you must understand...
...I made an arrangement
with your quartermaster.
We agreed the terms.
I would not
feel comfortable... uh...
...letting him down.
Therefore, I think...
you should stay.
I don't think
your daughter would agree.
My daughter understands the
importance of honouring an arrangement.
I'll speak to the quartermaster.
Make sure you continue
to get your medical supplies.
I've enjoyed meeting you.
I'm only sorry
about the circumstances.
"Citizens of Cephallonia."
"In these unfortunate
and difficult times..."
"...let us show the world how
two ancient cultures can coexist..."
"...and behave in a civilised
manner towards one another."
"Please join us
in an evening of relaxation..."
"...as we extend the hand
of friendship to you all."
I'll be back in a moment.
My friend thinks
you are very pretty.
Why doesn't he tell me himself?
He's too shy.
He wants to know
if you'll dance with him.
No, I can't...
not with a German.
But tell him thank you.
Tell him I don't mean
to be rude.
Uno momento.
Don't stay up too late.
Antonio!
It's Turkish.
From the Great War.
We should explode it.
The explosive must have decayed.
It's been floating
for about twenty years.
We could have put on
a good show.
We are going...
to explode the bomb.
It will be
a fantastic explosion...
...and when the time comes...
...nobody must come down
to the beach.
You must watch
from where you are.
Capitano!
You must be one of the most
stupid people I've ever met.
You wanted to show off, so
you nearly get us all killed.
I can see your lips moving, but I
can't hear a word you're saying.
It should pass...
in a day or two.
Your father says
it will pass in a day or two.
Does he?
Is that what
the great doctor says?
What are you saying?
Are you saying how beautiful life is
since the Italians arrived?
All my life I've been waiting.
I don't know
how I survived before you came.
Are you saying how much
you missed having me around?
I miss you so much,
I can't sleep at night.
The other night
when you were dancing...
...the way you were moving...
...the turn of your head.
I thought
I could watch you forever.
You think you can come here...
...and turn my whole world
upside down?
Iodine.
Bandages.
Dressings.
This is all I have.
I can't give you any morphine.
And we need
all the quinine we have.
12,000 of our men on the mainland
are sick with malaria.
Supplies
are not getting through.
Nobody knows why, nobody
knows what is happening...
...and I'm going to eat.
You know,
when I met Pelagia's mother...
...she was betrothed
to somebody else.
He nearly killed me.
I had to leave the island.
I had to lie low for a while.
She wants to train
to be a doctor, you know?
You think
she'd make a good doctor?
I think she'd make
a very good doctor.
Another thing.
This is a very ancient land...
...and we have had nothing but earthquakes
and slaughter for 2,000 years.
We've had massacres
at Sami and Fiskardo...
...and God knows where else.
There will be more.
It's only a question of time.
So don't make any plans.
Bravo!
After the war,
I'll leave it with you.
You're very sweet.
The Allies have landed
in Italy.
We can all go home then.
I can't believe it.
You really want this war
to be over?
What is wrong
with you Italians?
We don't have your advantages,
Gunther.
Advantages?
The advantage of thinking that
other races are inferior to yours.
It's a question of science.
You can't alter a scientific fact.
I don't care about science.
It's morality that counts.
What is your morality?
If I were to see a man
being set upon by others...
...I would think
that man was my brother.
That is my morality.
I would make myself
believe it's personal.
For me, too,
the war is personal.
I lost both my grandfathers
in the Great War.
A war that you started.
And my father's brother...
two of my mother's brothers.
I grew up in a country
where it was hard to survive.
We were hungry all the time.
All we ever knew about
was defeat. But now...
Sometimes it is better to lose...
...than to have so much
blood on your hands.
It's a beautiful night
and everything is peaceful...
...and we should think
about falling in love.
That's beautiful.
What is it?
It's "Pelagia's Song."
I wrote you that song
because I love you.
I don't care
if the world knows it.
I couldn't care less if I never
pick up the mandolin again.
When I was playing, it felt like
my hands were lumps of wood.
It felt as if every note
was sour...
...stale.
And then I realised...
...it's useless.
It's hopeless.
It can't begin to express
the way I feel about you.
Next time you see him,
tell him I have got his mandolin.
He left it in the square.
Four more boys from the village
have left to join Mandras.
Constantine's boys.
Kostas's brother,
what's his name?
George.
He's only fifteen.
He always worshipped Mandras.
Do you love him?
We are engaged to be married.
I am not talking about Mandras.
When you fall in love...
...it is a temporary madness.
It erupts like an earthquake,
and then it subsides.
And when it subsides,
you have to make a decision.
You have to work out whether your roots
have become so entwined together...
...that it is inconceivable
that you should ever part.
Because this is what love is.
Love is not breathlessness.
It is not excitement.
It's not the desire to mate
every second of the day.
It is not lying awake at night imagining
that he is kissing every part of your body.
No.
Don't blush.
I'm telling you some truths.
That is just being in love...
...which any of us
can convince ourselves we are.
Love itself
is what is left over...
...when being in love
has burned away.
Doesn't sound very exciting,
does it?
But it is.
Do you think that you...
...could begin to imagine that that is how
you will come to feel with Captain Corelli?
Pelagia...
You must act honourably...
...with respect
to Mandras and his mother.
And...
...pray for the liberation
of the island...
...because then everything...
...becomes possible.
Drosoula.
All night I've been thinking
about Mandras.
About me and Mandras.
Thinking about how long
we've been apart.
When did you arrive?
Where is your ring?
My fingers got too thin.
I thought I would lose it.
Where will you stay?
I want to ask you something.
We need to see
the Italian captain.
I want you to ask him
to meet with us.
As soon as you can.
In Germany, the port of Hamburg suffered
a second day of continuous air raids...
...from nearly 800 British aircraft
leaving much of the city in ruin.
While, in Italy,
Rome has finally fallen...
...to the Allied advance after
weeks of fierce fighting...
...and a huge bombing campaign
on the capital.
Allied commandos are closely watching
the Mediterranean countries...
...occupied by German
and Italian forces.
It's not yet clear what the German
attitude to an Italian withdrawal might be...
...but Germany will assume sole
command of many strategic territories.
Hitler is expected to send
massive reinforcements...
...through the Balkans
and into Greece...
...as the Nazis struggle to maintain
supply routes to northern Africa.
Mandras is back.
He wants to see you.
It's over!
It's all over!
- Mussolini has fallen!
- Finito!
We're going home!
Finito! Finito!
Colonel Barge and I have agreed
the date for the surrender...
...of our heavy weapons
and machine guns:..
...the fifteenth of September.
That's in five days time.
Why should we
lay down our arms?
They were our allies.
Why should they be
dictating terms to us?
We have surrendered.
Mussolini has surrendered to
the British and the Americans...
...not to the Germans.
Colonel Barge
and I have agreed.
If we surrender our arms...
...do we have confirmation that they
will not use force against us?
I have a personal undertaking from
Colonel Barge and his officers...
...that our troops
will be allowed safe passage.
My men will never agree to return
home without their weapons.
If you surrender your arms
in times of war...
...then you are no longer a man.
If you were in their position,
if you were German...
...you would want to be certain
for your own security...
...that the weapons will not be passed on
to the Allied forces or to the Greek partisans.
Or turned against you.
Or turned against you.
You must be looking forward
to going home.
There'll be people happy
to see you again, I'm sure.
Your family, your mother,
your wife.
Your girlfriend.
You wanted to see me?
We need arms.
Machine guns,
ammunition, land mines...
...anything you can spare.
How can I give you weapons?
- You know I can't do that.
- You've surrendered.
If you don't intend to fight, you
won't be needing your weapons.
We have a country to defend.
There is a massive build up of
German troops on the mainland.
The 117th Jaeger Division
is nearing the Corinth Canal.
The 104th is moving south
from Yugoslavia.
- Then you are not in any position to resist.
- Unless we act now.
Do you know, Captain,
on Lefkada island...
...all the Italians who surrendered have
been sent to prison camps in the north?
We heard they went home.
The trains were diverted
in Albania.
In this war, Captain...
...it's hard to know
who you can trust.
But one thing is certain...
...you can't trust the Germans.
Last night I dreamed I was sitting
in a restaurant in Piazza Navona.
Eating zuppe di cozze piccante...
...then a plate
of tagliarini al boscaiolo.
Colonel Barge has requested I withdraw
your battery from Antisamos Beach.
If they wanted to bring in
heavy reinforcements...
...this is where they would do it.
Is this an order?
Captain...
...don't you want to go home?
Are you going to let us through?
My orders are to supervise the
surrender of your arms and weapons.
The deadline for the hand-over
is at noon tomorrow.
Antonio.
This order comes
from Colonel Barge.
He has asked me personally to assure
you that if you surrender your arms...
...you will be guaranteed safe passage.
Like the Italian garrison
at Lefkada?
Lefkada?
But they laid down
their weapons.
They went home.
You must be looking forward
to seeing Italy again.
Do you think
we could keep in touch?
I mean, after the war,
of course.
You can have my gun when
I've finished my cigarette.
Get your hands off me,
you fu...
I understand your concern.
If I were in your shoes, I would
be asking questions, too.
Of course, we will
investigate what happened...
I can tell you
what happened...
- My men are dead!
- ...take the appropriate action.
What does that mean?
Does it mean that I can write
to the families of these men...
...and tell them that their murderers will
be charged that justice will prevail?
You force us at gunpoint to
line up and surrender our arms.
You impound our weapons.
- We're supposed to be allies!
- Captain Corelli, please!
We need some kind of assurance.
I can assure you
that the order to disarm...
...did not come
from my headquarters.
We have agreed to the surrender
of our arms by noon tomorrow.
We would like your assurance
that no more of our troops...
...will be forcibly disarmed
before that deadline.
Herr General...
...by noon tomorrow,
I guarantee...
...you'll be on your way home.
This is not our war.
This is between
the Greeks and the Germans.
Would you prefer we
left them to fight on their own?
The 4th Regiment
will hold Antisamos.
We'll keep the 5th
in reserve at Assos...
...and I will take
the 8th and 9th to Argostoli.
All gun lines to be in position
by first light tomorrow.
If we resist now,
we can beat them.
What if the Germans send planes?
Don't go near Argostoli.
Stay away from Antisamos Beach.
I want to lie across the road,
so that you can't leave.
Keep a gun with you
at all times. Promise me.
- Come back to me.
- Promise me.
When it's over...
you will come back to me.
I know what you feel.
You think if he died
your world will stop.
I will look out for him.
Pelagia!
Mama! Mama!
Pelagia!
Stay here!
It's not safe!
Pelagia!
Drosoula!
Drosoula!
- Drosoula! Drosoula!
- What are you doing?
She's a traitor and a whore.
Mandras?
Help me!
Help me!
Mandras!
Help me!
The enemy's a hundred meters away.
There's heavy armour coming.
PROSTITUTE
TREASON
Gunther!
Gunther!
Come on, move!
Shoot me.
He's alive.
He's alive.
He was alive
when I found him.
Fragments of uniform
in the bullet holes.
Splinters of rib.
- Just do it.
- I am not a surgeon.
- I have no penicillin.
- Please!
I have no sterile water.
No serum.
Please, Father, do it!
Hold.
Four of his ribs are broken.
Papa!
Antonio!
Don't move!
Don't move!
If you even try to move,
you will haemorrhage to death.
No, you must lie still.
How... I don't...
I don't...
- I don't...
- You were lying under Carlo's body.
If it wasn't for him...
you wouldn't be alive.
How did I get here?
Mandras found you.
Antonio, you
should try and drink something.
Antonio?
What would you like for lunch?
Not that there is
any choice, of course.
But if there was...
We needed something...
...steel...
...wire...
to bind the bones.
Of course, they'll have to be
removed sometime in the future.
I could try and get some
new strings from somewhere.
I could ask around.
Antonio!
What are you doing?
If they find me,
they will shoot you both.
They'll kill you
if you leave this house.
I don't belong here, Pelagia!
I never belonged here!
Ever since I came, look what
has happened all around you.
I love you.
I had no right to make you love me
when you weren't mine to love.
No!
Don't do that!
Lemoni!
Lemoni!
Go to Doctor Iannis's house.
Go now!
Go! Go!
Go now!
Mama will be back!
Dimitri will row you
to a boat out in the bay.
You should be home
by tomorrow night.
We must go.
I had to see you again.
One last time.
We must go!
Pelagia...
Don't say anything.
Look at me.
We must go!
- Go.
- Pelagia.
Go! Go.
Why did you save him?
Why didn't you
leave him to die?
I wanted you
to love me again.
In Albania...
...I made them read
every one of these to me.
Mandras, I love you.
Mandras, I want you.
Mandras, when are you
coming back?
And then one day,
a different letter.
I don't know how
to describe my feelings.
It's as if I've been waiting
a hundred years to hear from you.
Waiting a hundred years
for you to return.
Once I thought my heart was
overflowing with love for you.
But now all I feel is emptiness.
And I think all the time
it was a pretence...
...that I never loved you at all.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
The war we thought
would never end...
...is over.
And the island we thought
we had lost forever...
...is ours again.
In the doctor's house...
...there are three of us now.
The doctor...
...his daughter...
...who is training
to be a doctor...
Pelagia!
...and Lemoni.
Pelagia!
It's for you.
From Italy.
What is it?
It's a record.
We should start making supper,
that's what we should do.
Lemoni.
Antonio.
I do not know if this letter
will reach you...
...or even if you are alive.
Perhaps someone else
sent us your record...
...and that is why
we found no note.
I would like to say
that Pelagia is happy...
...but she is full of tears
she will not let fall...
...and of a grief
no doctor can mend.
She blames herself for
the pain we have suffered...
...and perhaps the same
is true for you.
You know I am not
a religious man...
...but I believe this:..
...If there is a wound,
we must try to heal it.
If there is someone
whose pain we can cure...
...we must search
till we find them.
If the gods have chosen
that we should survive...
...it will be for a reason.
Where is your miracle
today then, eh?
What do we have
to say about that?
Wake up.
Fetch the firewood.
Fix the roof.
Paint the house.
She's driving me mad.
When I was deaf,
I couldn't hear her... nagging.
But now...
Iatre, I beg of you, help me.
Put the pea back in my ear.
Iatre?
Lemoni?
Lemoni!
Lemoni!
I was looking for Lemoni.
She's down the road.
I went to the house.
It doesn't exist anymore.
We are building a new one.
Your father wrote
you got the record.
It's a guitar.
It's different.
I tried to live without you.
I tried to make myself believe
I could live without you.
The scar healed well.
Stamatis,
do you love your wife?
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.
You won't put the pea
back in my ear?
Oh, no, no, no.
That would be against
the Hippocratic Oath.
some violence, sexuality and language.
How long have you
been deaf in this ear?
Since as long
as I can remember.
Shut up!
Keep still while the doctor
is examining you.
I need a fish hook...
...about the right size
for a mullet...
...with a long shank,
and a hammer.
A fish hook?
A hammer?
Here's a fish hook...
...and a hammer.
Right.
Now keep still.
A pea.
It is very papilionaceous,
is it not?
He must have stuck it
in his ear when he was a child.
Oh, my God, it's loud.
I mean, everything is loud.
My own voice is loud.
Your deafness is cured.
A very satisfactory operation.
I've had an operation?
Ha! I'm the only person I know
who's had an operation.
It feels as if my whole head...
...has filled up with spring water,
all cold and clear.
Talk some sense when the doctor
has been kind enough to cure you.
All these years
thinking you are deaf.
But now there will be no excuses
when I ask you to remember...
...to collect something
on your way home.
Or to stoke up the fire
before we go to church.
Perhaps now
you will hear me...
...when I say to you,
"Mend the chair, Stamatis."
"Fix the leaking roof, Stamatis."
And now I won't have
to speak so loud...
Antonio,
do you remember our island?
It does not change.
On the feast day
of Saint Gerasimos...
...we still bring our sick
to the holy place...
...and pray that
their suffering may cease.
When Pelagia was a child...
...I promised her that I would
write a history of Cephallonia...
...but somehow I still
have not found the time.
I wanted her to understand
how a land so peaceful...
...could be shattered
by earthquakes and war.
I wanted her to understand
why sometimes the gods bless us...
...and why they sometimes
become angry...
...and shake us,
and fill our lives with pain.
I want her to learn the lesson
that nature teaches us.
That we should not ask
why we are wounded...
...only if the wound
can be healed.
A purely psychological
phenomenon.
How do you
explain the miracle?
Can Lenin cure the mad?
Can Stalin heal the afflicted?
It's obvious.
It's a set-up!
To keep people
enslaved to religion.
You don't have to shout.
I'm not deaf.
I want to see the cannon again.
- Yeah!
- Cannon!
All right.
I will need stones
from the street.
As many as you can find.
Be right back.
Ready, children?
Cover your ears.
Ow, that hurts!
Oh, that hurts!
Will he die?
Eventually, one of these days,
like all of us.
Turn over.
Good, strong gluteals.
Pelagia.
Tell us about the gluteals.
Please, come closer.
Have a good look.
Fetch your friends.
Everybody's welcome.
Gluteals.
Maximus, medius, minimus.
The maximus is the external
surface of the ilium...
...between anterior
and interior gluteal lines.
Mandras!
- Iatre...
- He'll be fine.
They told me you were shot.
I thought I was going to die.
I don't know why you can't
keep out of trouble! I don't know!
Iatre, you should count yourself
lucky you don't have a son.
Boys, they never grow up.
Look at me.
Old...
before my time.
- Kalimera, Pelagia.
- Kailmera.
It's too hot.
The fish are all hiding
in the rocks, or...
...keeping cool
at the bottom of the sea.
No, Mandras!
No! Put me down!
Put me down!
There are reports today...
...that a Greek battleship, the Eli has been
torpedoed by an Italian submarine...
...despite the fact that Greece
is not yet involved in the war.
Prime Minister Metaxas has protested
strongly to Mussolini's government in Rome...
...which has denied
responsibility for the attack.
And there are continued reports of fighting
between Greek and Italian soldiers...
...on the Greek-Albanian border.
But in Athens this morning...
...the Italian ambassador
once again denied...
What are they saying?
The Italians are in Albania,
close to the border.
They have reported
some fighting.
There!
You hear that?
And they are saying they are
not about to declare war.
There. What did I say?
They want to catch us sleeping.
They want to creep up on us
in the dead of night!
- You filthy liar!
- Your father was a goat!
Shut up!
If you two don't stop trading insults,
I'm going to start taking coffee at home.
Mandras wants to marry me.
I told him
he'd have to ask you.
I don't want to marry him.
You don't like him.
You are both too young.
Everyone is too young
when they marry.
I have often thought...
...that you would only ever be able
to marry happily with a foreigner.
- A dentist from Norway...
- A dentist from Norway...
...or something.
Mandras is not your equal.
And he would expect
to be better than his wife.
He is a man, after all.
I will tell you now
what I will say to him.
I am not giving away a dowry.
Who marries without a dowry?
You should marry for love.
I love Mandras.
So what am I supposed to do?
Go off to Mandras' mother's house
with nothing but a bag of clothes?
Oh, and my goat.
I'll never be able
to show my face.
I'll be the laughing stock
of Cephallonia.
You can imagine
how people will talk?
I don't know
how you will bear the shame.
There is going to be a war.
Terrible things happen in wars.
Use this to defend yourself.
And, if necessary,
use it against yourself.
Your marriage
will have to wait.
I look around me.
I see fishermen.
I see farmers.
I see strong, healthy men
who are born free.
But today your freedom
is in danger.
The Italian Army
sweeps through Albania...
...and her troops get ready to
cross the frontiers of Greece.
Exo Mussolini!
Exo Mussolini!
If you care
about your country...
...then you must fight
to defend her.
Join the war in Albania.
Fight for your mothers,
your sweethearts...
...your wives, your children.
Fight for the freedom...
...for all Greek people to live their
lives with dignity and respect!
When I come back
from the war...
...we will get married.
And I will build a house
for Pelagia...
...on the land
that belonged to my father.
I know we are different.
I don't know about the world.
Where have I been?
What could I know?
I don't know how to say
what I feel inside.
I don't know how to tell you
what is in here.
But I think... I know... Pelagia...
...I love you.
Tomorrow I leave for the war.
Pelagia, come
and dance with me.
I'll write.
I promise.
And promise that
you will write to me.
"My darling, you have not written
since that day I saw you off."
"And I am so terrified that I am not
getting any letters from you..."
"...because you have been
wounded or taken prisoner."
"And I have nightmares
that you are dead."
"Summer has turned to winter..."
"...and I am writing
my hundredth letter to you."
"The wounded who have returned
bring news of terrible conditions."
"Freezing cold, no food."
"But they bring
no news from you."
"Every day I wait
for the mail from Argostoli..."
"...and every day
there is nothing."
"And I feel as if I am going
mad with worry and fear."
"I try not to lose hope..."
"...but I long to feel something,
even if it is only pain."
We won!
We won!
It's over!
We've beaten them in Albania.
Look!
8,000 of us against 14,000 Italians,
and we forced them to withdraw.
What?
Hitler will never let
his lapdog be humiliated.
He will come to Mussolini's aid.
"I have written
this letter a dozen times..."
"...and a dozen times
I have thrown it away."
"I don't know how
to describe my feelings."
"It's as if I've been waiting
a hundred years to hear from you."
"Waiting a hundred years
for you to return."
Pelagia.
This is hopeless.
It's all wrong!
Following the great defeat
of the Italians in Albania...
...Hitler's bombers have
counterattacked...
...and the German Army has driven a path
through to the Greek capital, Athens.
A large number of Greek ships were destroyed
in the bombing of the nearby Port of Piraeus.
On April 27, the Athenian Military
Commissioner General Calvacos...
...officially handed over the keys of the
ancient city to his German counterpart....
...Lieutenant Colonel
Von Zephyr...
...and preparations are underway
for a carve-up of the territory.
Hitler retains direct control
of much of northern Greece...
...including Salonica and
the southern island of Crete.
The rest of Greece will be under
the control of Hitler's ally, Mussolini...
...though the Germans will retain
the final authority.
Bella bambina at two o'clock!
Captain Corelli.
"Fuck off."
Have him tell the mayor...
...that unless we receive the surrender
of the town's authorities in five minutes...
...we'll mobilise our troops
and storm the building.
The mayor says if you don't
know what "fuck off" means...
...then come inside
and we'll show you.
"We refuse to surrender to a nation
that we have defeated in Albania..."
"...and we reserve the right to surrender
to a German officer of significant rank."
"So fuck off. "
Who is this?
Who are you?
Captain Gunther Weber.
Liaison officer
with the Grenadiers at Lixouri.
"Captain" is not what we
would call a significant rank.
There are only 200
Germans on the island...
...and Captain Weber is the highest
ranking officer amongst them.
Our decision is...
...that surrendering to Captain
Weber's dog is more appropriate...
...than surrendering to an Italian.
Chi del gitano
i giorni abbella...
Chi del gitano
i giorni abbella...
Chi... Chi...
i giorni abbella...
Carlo Guercio
reporting for duty, sir.
- Carlo, where have you served?
- Albania.
Albania?
None of us have seen
any action yet.
I was with the Julia Division.
Then you have fought enough
for all of us.
Carlo, can you sing?
Let's hear you sing.
O bambino caro...
Mi piace bello... bello...
No matter.
Everyone in our battery is
a member of the opera society.
These are the rules
of engagement:..
One, all those called
to regular musical fatigues...
...shall be obliged to play
a musical instrument.
Uh, spoons, the helmet...
...comb, paper,
and so on, and so on.
Two, anyone who says that
Donizetti is better than Verdi...
...shall be required
to sing "Funiculi Funicula"...
...and other songs about railways.
Three... um...
...three... um... ah.
This is an outrage!
Quite impossible.
It's out of the question.
Sir, the fact is,
I'm sorry to say...
...and with great regret,
that my orders are...
...to billet an officer
in your home.
I am a doctor.
This is my surgery.
I don't have room for guests!
- Sir, these are my orders!
- I don't care!
I don't recognise
your authority!
Wait a minute.
What is wrong with your feet?
I have terrible corns.
My boots are killing me.
You are a quartermaster. You must
have access to medical supplies.
To treat your corns,
I will need morphine...
...hypodermic syringes,
sulphur ointment...
...surgical spirit, neosalvarsan.
Iodine, scalpels, collodian,
bandages, lint.
Perhaps your officer
could bring supplies...
...when he comes.
My father is not here.
He'll be home this evening.
You don't even know who I am.
Mandras?
I walked all the way...
from Epirus.
No boots.
I wrote to you every day.
A hundred letters.
And not a single reply.
I never learned...
...to read or write.
Oh, Lord, what a stench.
It's worse than pigs.
You see, Pelagia, what a state
these men get into...
...when there are no women
to look after them.
And I don't care
if he's been to war.
If we catch his fleas and lice,
I'm going to skin him alive.
Ammonia, oil of sassafras,
and zinc for scabies.
You're a woman and...
and you know so many things.
At least you can see
what you are getting.
Not much of a bargain, is he?
You fall in love
with the person, not the body.
Love enters by the eyes
and also leaves by the eyes.
Take it from me.
We beat the Italians.
We had them running.
But we couldn't
fight the Germans.
If I could cook...
...I would exchange jobs with you.
In fact, I might retire.
Bella bambina!
Forgive me.
Forgive me.
I don't mean to embarrass you.
I'm Captain Antonio Corelli...
...and that man
is one of our heroes.
He has a hundred medals
for saving life...
...and none for taking it.
A brave Italian
is a freak of nature.
Said like a true Greek patriot.
Captain Corelli?
I want a word with you. Now.
I want an explanation.
I want to know why
you have defaced the monument.
What monument?
You have changed
the inscription to Latin.
Do you think you can
so easily erase our history?
Is this how you wage war?
By the chipping away of letters?
- I must protest.
- You cannot protest. There is no excuse.
I was about to protest, because
I was not responsible for it.
Pathetic.
If you could tell me
where I'm going to sleep...
In my daughter's room.
But where will
your daughter sleep?
It's none of your business
where I sleep.
Ah. Tonight I'll sleep
in the yard.
Tomorrow I'll request
alternative accommodation.
I have made an arrangement
with your quartermaster.
You are staying here
whether you like it or not.
But your daughter's bed,
I feel it would not be...
I don't care how you feel.
That is not my problem.
I am not the aggressor.
You understand me?
This is very good.
This is Cephallonian meat pie.
Except that,
thanks to you people...
...it doesn't have any meat in it.
I could bring some food.
A little wine,
perhaps some panettone.
We don't accept food
from the enemy.
Maybe a little panettone.
I am going for a walk.
The curfew starts
in one hour's time.
I was born here.
This is my island.
Aren't you going
to go and arrest him?
He's defying you,
ignoring the curfew.
You're absolutely right.
Quick, get the gun.
Somebody shoot him, shoot him.
Capitano Antonio Corelli.
Now you try.
Capitano Antonio Corelli.
Lemoni!
Oh, what?
Babibaba?
Capitano.
- Capitano.
- S. Antonio.
- Lemoni.
- Antonio.
- Corelli.
- Go home.
Go on.
You can come back later.
Signorina...
...in times of war...
...we have to make the most of what
little innocent pleasure there is.
"I have started
to make a waistcoat for you."
"Eagles and flowers,
embroidered with gold thread."
"But I can't seem
to get them to match up."
"One flower is much bigger."
"One eagle is in a different
place from the other."
"And when I try to make them
more even, it gets worse."
"I just can't get it right."
You could kill him, you know.
He's the enemy.
You could poison him.
No one would ever know how he died.
Dimitri and Spiros have both
left to join the partisans.
They've gone by boat to Patra.
And who knows where from there.
I should be with them.
You're not going anywhere
until you are strong again.
Read the last one.
The last letter you wrote
before I came home.
"My darling..."
"I've heard nothing from you
for such a long time..."
"...and I feel desperate
and helpless..."
"...and I am burning my brains
with worry."
"Yesterday I wrote you
such a long letter..."
"...that said everything perfectly..."
- "...and believe it..."
- Listen.
Mandras!
I can't stay here.
Signorina.
Signorina.
You are drunk.
Ah, yes, I confess.
We have been
drinking, singing...
...generally misbehaving.
I thought you were a soldier.
Captain Antonio Corelli, 33rd Regiment,
Artillery, reporting for duty!
Is everything a joke to you?
No. Not everything.
Captain Corelli, I think this would be a
good time to hear you play the mandolin.
What on earth are you doing?
I was just about to start.
Well, about time, too,
I should think.
The first 45 1/2 bars
are for the orchestra.
"Allegro moderato e grazioso."
You have to imagine
the orchestra.
I'm damned if I can sit through
all that tapping again.
Just play your part.
If I do that, I'll start getting confused
about when I'm supposed to come in...
...and that, in a concert hall,
would be a disaster.
I apologise
for disrupting the concert.
I apologise to each
and every one of you.
To those in the cheapest seats
in the gods...
...to Your Majesties
in your royal boxes...
...draped in your jewellery
and your fine furs.
But I'm damned
if I can imagine an orchestra.
I am going to bed.
Is this where
the captain sleeps?
I was coming to see you.
I'm leaving, Pelagia.
In the morning.
I'll take my boat to Astakos.
- It's not safe.
- I'm a fisherman.
I know those waters
like the back of my hand.
I don't want you to go.
If I die,
I won't have died for nothing.
And if I live, I'll walk
with my head held high...
...for the rest of my life,
and everyone will say:..
..."That's Mandras, who fought
for his country in the war."
I finished your waistcoat.
You can take it now if you want.
The two sides...
...they are not the same.
The Italian captain.
...14,000 of you
against 8,000 of us.
You could have driven us
into the sea.
If it weren't for your
German friends, we would have.
My friends are the men
in my battery.
People I grew up with.
People of my hometown.
So, what do you think
of our island, Captain?
I like your island.
And what do you think
of our girls?
What do you think of my Pelagia?
Goodbye, Pelagia.
My beautiful Pelagia.
Heil Hitler.
Heil Puccini.
I saw your party, I thought
I would come and introduce myself.
You mean, you saw the naked women
and want to come and get a closer look.
We've met before.
The surrender at the town hall.
You are much better at having parties
than you are at negotiating surrender.
Well, we're Italian.
Famous for singing,
eating, making love.
What's your name?
Antonio Corelli.
Grazie.
You Germans always have
the best tobacco, huh?
How many of you are here now?
Approximately 1,200.
Under Colonel Barge.
Here to keep an eye on us.
Doesn't it feel good
to have your allies here?
I thought all you Nazis
had blond hair.
I come from the Tyrol.
Grew up
in the Austrian mountains.
All my family, and my family before them going
back as far as we can remember, have dark hair.
Like Adolf Hilter?
You neglected
to tell me your rank.
I am the breve.
Maximilliano here
is the semibreve.
He is the minim.
Those boys are the crotchets
and the quavers.
Piero here is the semiquaver.
And Carlo is the rest.
The pause between the notes.
In the opera club, we have
our own ranking system...
...but otherwise I am a captain.
33rd Regiment of Artillery.
- Do you sing?
- Oh, no, uh, not really.
Well, maybe, you know...
...on my own.
In the bath.
Well, have a drink.
Be happy.
But just remember, if you ever
express admiration for Wagner...
...you will be shot,
without trial...
...and without leave of appeal.
From the top!
Lemoni...
Come on.
Are you going to shoot me?
It wasn't loaded.
I've never aimed a gun
at anybody.
Never in my life.
It must be very difficult for you
to have to put up with us.
It must be very difficult for you
to have to live with yourself.
You lie in the sun
and swim in the sea...
...and flirt with your prostitutes.
And there are people I know,
people I grew up with...
...who are fighting for their lives
and dying for what they believe in.
And all you do is sing.
What's there to sing about?
We are in the middle of a war,
not an opera house.
And you, you think
you are so cultured...
...with your pasta and your panettone
and your puffed-up opera.
Why don't you take your holiday
on somebody else's island?
What is there to sing about?
There is singing
when babies are baptised...
...when you celebrate a marriage.
Men sing as they work.
Soldiers sing
as they march into battle...
...and there is singing
when people die.
I have always found something
in life worth singing about...
...and for that
I cannot apologise.
For the fact that
I've caused you pain...
...I cannot apologise enough.
I have not been able
to imagine, until now...
...the offence I have given.
- What are those?
- My things.
I can see that.
Why?
I'm going to stay in the
encampment with my men.
I think it will be best.
But you must understand...
...I made an arrangement
with your quartermaster.
We agreed the terms.
I would not
feel comfortable... uh...
...letting him down.
Therefore, I think...
you should stay.
I don't think
your daughter would agree.
My daughter understands the
importance of honouring an arrangement.
I'll speak to the quartermaster.
Make sure you continue
to get your medical supplies.
I've enjoyed meeting you.
I'm only sorry
about the circumstances.
"Citizens of Cephallonia."
"In these unfortunate
and difficult times..."
"...let us show the world how
two ancient cultures can coexist..."
"...and behave in a civilised
manner towards one another."
"Please join us
in an evening of relaxation..."
"...as we extend the hand
of friendship to you all."
I'll be back in a moment.
My friend thinks
you are very pretty.
Why doesn't he tell me himself?
He's too shy.
He wants to know
if you'll dance with him.
No, I can't...
not with a German.
But tell him thank you.
Tell him I don't mean
to be rude.
Uno momento.
Don't stay up too late.
Antonio!
It's Turkish.
From the Great War.
We should explode it.
The explosive must have decayed.
It's been floating
for about twenty years.
We could have put on
a good show.
We are going...
to explode the bomb.
It will be
a fantastic explosion...
...and when the time comes...
...nobody must come down
to the beach.
You must watch
from where you are.
Capitano!
You must be one of the most
stupid people I've ever met.
You wanted to show off, so
you nearly get us all killed.
I can see your lips moving, but I
can't hear a word you're saying.
It should pass...
in a day or two.
Your father says
it will pass in a day or two.
Does he?
Is that what
the great doctor says?
What are you saying?
Are you saying how beautiful life is
since the Italians arrived?
All my life I've been waiting.
I don't know
how I survived before you came.
Are you saying how much
you missed having me around?
I miss you so much,
I can't sleep at night.
The other night
when you were dancing...
...the way you were moving...
...the turn of your head.
I thought
I could watch you forever.
You think you can come here...
...and turn my whole world
upside down?
Iodine.
Bandages.
Dressings.
This is all I have.
I can't give you any morphine.
And we need
all the quinine we have.
12,000 of our men on the mainland
are sick with malaria.
Supplies
are not getting through.
Nobody knows why, nobody
knows what is happening...
...and I'm going to eat.
You know,
when I met Pelagia's mother...
...she was betrothed
to somebody else.
He nearly killed me.
I had to leave the island.
I had to lie low for a while.
She wants to train
to be a doctor, you know?
You think
she'd make a good doctor?
I think she'd make
a very good doctor.
Another thing.
This is a very ancient land...
...and we have had nothing but earthquakes
and slaughter for 2,000 years.
We've had massacres
at Sami and Fiskardo...
...and God knows where else.
There will be more.
It's only a question of time.
So don't make any plans.
Bravo!
After the war,
I'll leave it with you.
You're very sweet.
The Allies have landed
in Italy.
We can all go home then.
I can't believe it.
You really want this war
to be over?
What is wrong
with you Italians?
We don't have your advantages,
Gunther.
Advantages?
The advantage of thinking that
other races are inferior to yours.
It's a question of science.
You can't alter a scientific fact.
I don't care about science.
It's morality that counts.
What is your morality?
If I were to see a man
being set upon by others...
...I would think
that man was my brother.
That is my morality.
I would make myself
believe it's personal.
For me, too,
the war is personal.
I lost both my grandfathers
in the Great War.
A war that you started.
And my father's brother...
two of my mother's brothers.
I grew up in a country
where it was hard to survive.
We were hungry all the time.
All we ever knew about
was defeat. But now...
Sometimes it is better to lose...
...than to have so much
blood on your hands.
It's a beautiful night
and everything is peaceful...
...and we should think
about falling in love.
That's beautiful.
What is it?
It's "Pelagia's Song."
I wrote you that song
because I love you.
I don't care
if the world knows it.
I couldn't care less if I never
pick up the mandolin again.
When I was playing, it felt like
my hands were lumps of wood.
It felt as if every note
was sour...
...stale.
And then I realised...
...it's useless.
It's hopeless.
It can't begin to express
the way I feel about you.
Next time you see him,
tell him I have got his mandolin.
He left it in the square.
Four more boys from the village
have left to join Mandras.
Constantine's boys.
Kostas's brother,
what's his name?
George.
He's only fifteen.
He always worshipped Mandras.
Do you love him?
We are engaged to be married.
I am not talking about Mandras.
When you fall in love...
...it is a temporary madness.
It erupts like an earthquake,
and then it subsides.
And when it subsides,
you have to make a decision.
You have to work out whether your roots
have become so entwined together...
...that it is inconceivable
that you should ever part.
Because this is what love is.
Love is not breathlessness.
It is not excitement.
It's not the desire to mate
every second of the day.
It is not lying awake at night imagining
that he is kissing every part of your body.
No.
Don't blush.
I'm telling you some truths.
That is just being in love...
...which any of us
can convince ourselves we are.
Love itself
is what is left over...
...when being in love
has burned away.
Doesn't sound very exciting,
does it?
But it is.
Do you think that you...
...could begin to imagine that that is how
you will come to feel with Captain Corelli?
Pelagia...
You must act honourably...
...with respect
to Mandras and his mother.
And...
...pray for the liberation
of the island...
...because then everything...
...becomes possible.
Drosoula.
All night I've been thinking
about Mandras.
About me and Mandras.
Thinking about how long
we've been apart.
When did you arrive?
Where is your ring?
My fingers got too thin.
I thought I would lose it.
Where will you stay?
I want to ask you something.
We need to see
the Italian captain.
I want you to ask him
to meet with us.
As soon as you can.
In Germany, the port of Hamburg suffered
a second day of continuous air raids...
...from nearly 800 British aircraft
leaving much of the city in ruin.
While, in Italy,
Rome has finally fallen...
...to the Allied advance after
weeks of fierce fighting...
...and a huge bombing campaign
on the capital.
Allied commandos are closely watching
the Mediterranean countries...
...occupied by German
and Italian forces.
It's not yet clear what the German
attitude to an Italian withdrawal might be...
...but Germany will assume sole
command of many strategic territories.
Hitler is expected to send
massive reinforcements...
...through the Balkans
and into Greece...
...as the Nazis struggle to maintain
supply routes to northern Africa.
Mandras is back.
He wants to see you.
It's over!
It's all over!
- Mussolini has fallen!
- Finito!
We're going home!
Finito! Finito!
Colonel Barge and I have agreed
the date for the surrender...
...of our heavy weapons
and machine guns:..
...the fifteenth of September.
That's in five days time.
Why should we
lay down our arms?
They were our allies.
Why should they be
dictating terms to us?
We have surrendered.
Mussolini has surrendered to
the British and the Americans...
...not to the Germans.
Colonel Barge
and I have agreed.
If we surrender our arms...
...do we have confirmation that they
will not use force against us?
I have a personal undertaking from
Colonel Barge and his officers...
...that our troops
will be allowed safe passage.
My men will never agree to return
home without their weapons.
If you surrender your arms
in times of war...
...then you are no longer a man.
If you were in their position,
if you were German...
...you would want to be certain
for your own security...
...that the weapons will not be passed on
to the Allied forces or to the Greek partisans.
Or turned against you.
Or turned against you.
You must be looking forward
to going home.
There'll be people happy
to see you again, I'm sure.
Your family, your mother,
your wife.
Your girlfriend.
You wanted to see me?
We need arms.
Machine guns,
ammunition, land mines...
...anything you can spare.
How can I give you weapons?
- You know I can't do that.
- You've surrendered.
If you don't intend to fight, you
won't be needing your weapons.
We have a country to defend.
There is a massive build up of
German troops on the mainland.
The 117th Jaeger Division
is nearing the Corinth Canal.
The 104th is moving south
from Yugoslavia.
- Then you are not in any position to resist.
- Unless we act now.
Do you know, Captain,
on Lefkada island...
...all the Italians who surrendered have
been sent to prison camps in the north?
We heard they went home.
The trains were diverted
in Albania.
In this war, Captain...
...it's hard to know
who you can trust.
But one thing is certain...
...you can't trust the Germans.
Last night I dreamed I was sitting
in a restaurant in Piazza Navona.
Eating zuppe di cozze piccante...
...then a plate
of tagliarini al boscaiolo.
Colonel Barge has requested I withdraw
your battery from Antisamos Beach.
If they wanted to bring in
heavy reinforcements...
...this is where they would do it.
Is this an order?
Captain...
...don't you want to go home?
Are you going to let us through?
My orders are to supervise the
surrender of your arms and weapons.
The deadline for the hand-over
is at noon tomorrow.
Antonio.
This order comes
from Colonel Barge.
He has asked me personally to assure
you that if you surrender your arms...
...you will be guaranteed safe passage.
Like the Italian garrison
at Lefkada?
Lefkada?
But they laid down
their weapons.
They went home.
You must be looking forward
to seeing Italy again.
Do you think
we could keep in touch?
I mean, after the war,
of course.
You can have my gun when
I've finished my cigarette.
Get your hands off me,
you fu...
I understand your concern.
If I were in your shoes, I would
be asking questions, too.
Of course, we will
investigate what happened...
I can tell you
what happened...
- My men are dead!
- ...take the appropriate action.
What does that mean?
Does it mean that I can write
to the families of these men...
...and tell them that their murderers will
be charged that justice will prevail?
You force us at gunpoint to
line up and surrender our arms.
You impound our weapons.
- We're supposed to be allies!
- Captain Corelli, please!
We need some kind of assurance.
I can assure you
that the order to disarm...
...did not come
from my headquarters.
We have agreed to the surrender
of our arms by noon tomorrow.
We would like your assurance
that no more of our troops...
...will be forcibly disarmed
before that deadline.
Herr General...
...by noon tomorrow,
I guarantee...
...you'll be on your way home.
This is not our war.
This is between
the Greeks and the Germans.
Would you prefer we
left them to fight on their own?
The 4th Regiment
will hold Antisamos.
We'll keep the 5th
in reserve at Assos...
...and I will take
the 8th and 9th to Argostoli.
All gun lines to be in position
by first light tomorrow.
If we resist now,
we can beat them.
What if the Germans send planes?
Don't go near Argostoli.
Stay away from Antisamos Beach.
I want to lie across the road,
so that you can't leave.
Keep a gun with you
at all times. Promise me.
- Come back to me.
- Promise me.
When it's over...
you will come back to me.
I know what you feel.
You think if he died
your world will stop.
I will look out for him.
Pelagia!
Mama! Mama!
Pelagia!
Stay here!
It's not safe!
Pelagia!
Drosoula!
Drosoula!
- Drosoula! Drosoula!
- What are you doing?
She's a traitor and a whore.
Mandras?
Help me!
Help me!
Mandras!
Help me!
The enemy's a hundred meters away.
There's heavy armour coming.
PROSTITUTE
TREASON
Gunther!
Gunther!
Come on, move!
Shoot me.
He's alive.
He's alive.
He was alive
when I found him.
Fragments of uniform
in the bullet holes.
Splinters of rib.
- Just do it.
- I am not a surgeon.
- I have no penicillin.
- Please!
I have no sterile water.
No serum.
Please, Father, do it!
Hold.
Four of his ribs are broken.
Papa!
Antonio!
Don't move!
Don't move!
If you even try to move,
you will haemorrhage to death.
No, you must lie still.
How... I don't...
I don't...
- I don't...
- You were lying under Carlo's body.
If it wasn't for him...
you wouldn't be alive.
How did I get here?
Mandras found you.
Antonio, you
should try and drink something.
Antonio?
What would you like for lunch?
Not that there is
any choice, of course.
But if there was...
We needed something...
...steel...
...wire...
to bind the bones.
Of course, they'll have to be
removed sometime in the future.
I could try and get some
new strings from somewhere.
I could ask around.
Antonio!
What are you doing?
If they find me,
they will shoot you both.
They'll kill you
if you leave this house.
I don't belong here, Pelagia!
I never belonged here!
Ever since I came, look what
has happened all around you.
I love you.
I had no right to make you love me
when you weren't mine to love.
No!
Don't do that!
Lemoni!
Lemoni!
Go to Doctor Iannis's house.
Go now!
Go! Go!
Go now!
Mama will be back!
Dimitri will row you
to a boat out in the bay.
You should be home
by tomorrow night.
We must go.
I had to see you again.
One last time.
We must go!
Pelagia...
Don't say anything.
Look at me.
We must go!
- Go.
- Pelagia.
Go! Go.
Why did you save him?
Why didn't you
leave him to die?
I wanted you
to love me again.
In Albania...
...I made them read
every one of these to me.
Mandras, I love you.
Mandras, I want you.
Mandras, when are you
coming back?
And then one day,
a different letter.
I don't know how
to describe my feelings.
It's as if I've been waiting
a hundred years to hear from you.
Waiting a hundred years
for you to return.
Once I thought my heart was
overflowing with love for you.
But now all I feel is emptiness.
And I think all the time
it was a pretence...
...that I never loved you at all.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
The war we thought
would never end...
...is over.
And the island we thought
we had lost forever...
...is ours again.
In the doctor's house...
...there are three of us now.
The doctor...
...his daughter...
...who is training
to be a doctor...
Pelagia!
...and Lemoni.
Pelagia!
It's for you.
From Italy.
What is it?
It's a record.
We should start making supper,
that's what we should do.
Lemoni.
Antonio.
I do not know if this letter
will reach you...
...or even if you are alive.
Perhaps someone else
sent us your record...
...and that is why
we found no note.
I would like to say
that Pelagia is happy...
...but she is full of tears
she will not let fall...
...and of a grief
no doctor can mend.
She blames herself for
the pain we have suffered...
...and perhaps the same
is true for you.
You know I am not
a religious man...
...but I believe this:..
...If there is a wound,
we must try to heal it.
If there is someone
whose pain we can cure...
...we must search
till we find them.
If the gods have chosen
that we should survive...
...it will be for a reason.
Where is your miracle
today then, eh?
What do we have
to say about that?
Wake up.
Fetch the firewood.
Fix the roof.
Paint the house.
She's driving me mad.
When I was deaf,
I couldn't hear her... nagging.
But now...
Iatre, I beg of you, help me.
Put the pea back in my ear.
Iatre?
Lemoni?
Lemoni!
Lemoni!
I was looking for Lemoni.
She's down the road.
I went to the house.
It doesn't exist anymore.
We are building a new one.
Your father wrote
you got the record.
It's a guitar.
It's different.
I tried to live without you.
I tried to make myself believe
I could live without you.
The scar healed well.
Stamatis,
do you love your wife?
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.
You won't put the pea
back in my ear?
Oh, no, no, no.
That would be against
the Hippocratic Oath.