Captain Corelli's Mandolin Page #3

"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

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