Five years in the making, this sometimes feels like five years in the
watching. No real structure has been imposed to sculpt Louis de
Bernières' rambling, impressionistic narrative into
acceptable dramatic shape. The result, though not without its
virtues, is generally insipid. John Toll's cinematography at least
finds blue clarity in the sea and sky of an island idyll, and Hurt is
impressively dignified as the Cephallonian doctor whose daughter
(Cruz) falls in love with the Italian captain stationed in their
village (a decent, underwhelming Cage). Integrating their romance
with the war raging around them somehow wasn't a problem in the novel; it
is here.
