Malena (2000)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

It is not Malèna's fault she is so beautiful, nor is it her fault that she happens to find herself living in a society at a very specific point in history which happened to place a heavy emphasis on the appearance and internal makeup of a person: Italian; white; patriot; Catholic, etc. This is a film about beauty as much as it is beautiful people - certainly by the end of the film, all sorts of different individuals have sandwiched into their minds preconceptions on our eponymous herald, but a large chunk of the film is about what really transpired over a period of around four and a half years. It is also a film about behaviour - behaviour and outlooks at a time and in a place when behaviour and outlooks are scrutinised to within the inch. It is difficult for many of the men who live in the small Sicilian town in 1939 wherein "Malèna" is set to balance their lust for the eponymous woman with the honour they are supposed to feel towards their own spouses and the Catholic faith. Where director Giuseppe Tornatore toys with things in this respect lies in his placing of a young boy at the very epicentre of the film. At twelve years of age, Renato (Giuseppe Sulfaro) is too young for politics; religion and wives, and because he is so young he will never hook up with Malèna in the first place. Irrespective, he is still on the outside looking in like everybody else anyway. Amidst the ugliness of war; fascism; a volatile homestead situation and seclusion from a group of other boys, Monica Bellucci's Malèna character is both a visual tonic for our Renato as well as a key into an alternate reality where they are together; happy and blissfully ignorant of all the pain and misery which engulfs both of their worlds. But because the film takes place so long ago, there are no modern quick-fixes to relieve the cupid's arrow - having spent an afternoon spying on Malèna at her house, Renato has a pretty good idea of what music she likes to listen to, and must purchase it at the local music store if he wants to be reminded of her. The only problem is, he doesn't know what it is called, obviously, and must embarrass himself by singing it to the clerk in the vain hope he will recognise it. The film is emboldened by that sense of the nostalgic and of the romantic in this regard.Tornatore depicts the fascination Renato comes to possess of Malèna, the bulwark of the film, in such a way that we genuinely feel that the boy has come to feel a fondness for her that is authentic. We are already aware of just how out of favour Renato is with other boys in the town of his age, who bully him and pick on him. Their own fondness for Malèna is more superficial; they are not shy of crudely expressing their lust for her as she walks past them. We do not sense that they have the ability, or even the creativity, to visualise themselves in a motion-picture with her. In a film that is the antithesis to something like an "American Pie" sequel, or the ugly younger sibling to any of those films in the form of "Superbad", this is to be applauded. If you want to cover this sort of coming-of-age material, and give it a sprinkling of situational comedy, "Malèna" is how to do it.

What a joy to live at this epoch ... To had a chance to see this masterpiece !!! This movie is like a documentary of human emotion .. It has good and evil , sorrow and joy , True feelings false feelings ... i could go on for ever .. To truly understand this movie we have to be able to distinct the feelings.. In English there is only one word LOVE ... In Greek there are 2 words EROTAS and AGAPI both mean love yet there are completely different .. Erotas is like a gentle flower of Love and if the soil of emotion will be fitted it will gradually grow to a beautiful and strong Tree which will be called Love .. Erotas is gentle and breathtaking emotion yet it is fragile to various climate of emotions .. and soil of emotions... SO it is not strong enough to bring the total joy to our heart .. we have to watch over it until it becomes LOVE a powerful and Almighty tree ... This movie will show you what is Erotas .. when you will see all this primal emotions that overcome our sense .. yet it is not enough to go through the end ... And watching this you can only imagine what True love is ..

Hitler rightly says that"The more I know people, the more I love dogs". And it is also said that we humans are most smart ANIMALS! But at least Animals are not FAKE.It takes an effort to become a true Human but who cares?people are happy to live like animals bcuz it is far easy.Most people with no inner self treat helpless,weak or alone people the same way as alone Malena was treated in this movie.A person with no inner self has a brain with no wisdom!then his brain works the same way as it works for animals no principles nothing just a machine.People who blame others for their own vices are shown in this movie. Yes Malena has an attractive beautiful body but this only the outer part of her, the actual Malena is hiding inside that beautiful body which is far more beautiful but never seen by anyone or no one actually wants to see it!Her beauty has become a curse as it hides all her emotions inside itself and to look that inside it requires an eye of a soul not of a smart intelligent brain.We are not so called human but we are Human we are soul! So Guys watch this movie to examine your self if your are a soul or just a body?

The story first seems as a it's only focused on Renato and the depictions of his wild and childish imaginations while he's jerking off. But slowly and surely the side plot of Malena's life starts to take center focus and becomes the main focus nearing the movie's end. What's nice is that both focuses are depicted accordingly. The movie doesn't take lightly in portraying each sides of the story. It went on wild and crazy on Renato's imagination and on how he almost devoted his adolescent life to stalk on Malena.. Yet the movie also gives a good matured view on the focus of Malena's life. The story plays it nicely on telling how fate seemingly throws in inevitable situations again and again at her life. The movie uses nice touches of editing and fancy fast cuts here and there. We see great usage of camera angles and a lot of close ups focusing on Renato's expressions. The acting is a good work in overall. Playing the lead character Renato, Giuseppe Sulfaro acted out well enough maintaining the sad looks in his character's innocence. Monica Bellucci did well in portraying the expressions needed as a widow in such conditions, although the final conflict shot feels quite lacking.