Line #8 Literature/CaptainCorellisMandolin


1	%%
2	%%
3	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
4	%%
5	%%
6	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/captain_corellis_mandolin.jpg]]
7
8	''Captain Corelli's Mandolin'' is a 1994 novel by Creator/LouisDeBernieres, set on the Greek island of Cephalonia. The occupation of the island by Italian troops during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII forms a major part of the plot; the title character, Antonio Corelli, is an officer in the occupying forces.
9
10	Adapted into a 2001 film directed by John Madden, starring Creator/NicolasCage, Creator/PenelopeCruz, Creator/JohnHurt and Creator/ChristianBale.
11
12	----
13	!!The novel provides examples of:
14
15	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Pelagia believes Corelli died in the massacre. Corelli returns to the island after the war, intending to tell her the truth, but gains a mistaken impression that she has moved on and decides to leave her be. They do not meet again until they are both very old.]]
16	* BulletproofHumanShield: Inverted, when a soldier deliberately holds one of his comrades ''behind'' him while they're under heavy fire. Played realistically, as the bullets do pass through [[spoiler:Carlo]] and hit [[spoiler:Corelli]], but are slowed down enough that he's injured instead of killed.
17	* CavalryBetrayal: Twofold. The Italian government ends up defecting to the Allied cause, causing their German allies to retaliate by going after Italian troops and subsequently massacring them.
18	* CoolOldGuy: Velisarios. At his last appearance, he's 87 years old and still has strength men a quarter of his age could only dream of.
19	* CurbStompBattle: Following the Italian armistice, the Germans launch a surprise attack on the Italian garrison, complete with tank and air support. The surprised Italians are caught off-guard and massacred as a result.
20	* DiedInYourArmsTonight: Francesco dies in Carlo's arms.
21	* FalseFlagOperation: Carlo and Francesco are sent to carry out such an operation. They are not told this is what they're doing and (as they realize when they figure out what they've actually done) they weren't supposed to survive it.
22	%%* HappilyAdopted: Antonia
23	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Carlo places himself between Corelli and the guns during the massacre, giving Corelli a chance at survival.]]
24	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: One chapter is narrated by UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini, a disturbing rant where he raves about his fascist viewpoints and kicks his cat to death.
25	%%* MagicalQueer: Carlo.
26	* PoorCommunicationKills: Well, not ''kills'', exactly, but the entire bittersweet ending could have been avoided with the right questions.
27	* PreserveYourGays: The gay character Carlo survives a horrific campaign in Albania while the heterosexual man whom Carlo secretly loves dies in his arms. [[spoiler:Carlo does die late in the book, but it's hard to feel he's been singled out because the occasion is a massacre in which every single one of the other Italian soldiers except Corelli also dies.]]
28	* {{Sabotutor}}[=/=]TrollingTranslator: Corelli wants to get on with the people whose village his men are occupying, so he asks an Italian-speaking local to teach him how to greet the villagers in their own language. The "greeting" he gets taught is thoroughly impolite, and causes him to become even less popular.
29	* TheWomenAreSafeWithUs: Corelli does not take kindly to Italian soldiers abusing the Greek girls.
30	* TranslationConvention: Bunny Warren arrives in Cephalonia speaking only Ancient Greek, which is rendered in the novel as (unusually scrupulous) Chaucerian Middle English. As the novel proceeds, Bunny's speech becomes gradually more modern.
31	* {{Unperson}}: Antonia is unofficially adopted by Pelagia after being abandoned at her house as an infant, and her birth is never officially registered. She's rather startled to discover, when trying to get a passport as an adult, that she doesn't legally exist.
32
33	!!The movie adaptation provides examples of:
34
35	%%* JustAStupidAccent: Nicolas Cage as Corelli.
36	* LighterAndSofter: The ending is less bitter, more sweet. [[spoiler:Corelli and Pelagia are reunited soon after the war ends, instead of years later.]]
37	* NormalFishInATinyPond: Captain Günther Weber is brought in to help expedite the surrender when the leaders demand that they would only surrender to a German officer "of significant rank".
38	-->'''Antonio:''' There are only 200 Germans on the island, and Captain Weber is the highest-ranking officer amongst them.
39	* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Just listen to Nicolas Cage's Italian accent.
40	* ShotInTheAss: Mandras gets hit in the ass by rocks shot from a cannon. Leads to a funny moment with the village doctor.

Context Literature / CaptainCorellisMandolin