As the war progresses the aloof dignity Malena rigorously maintains becomes harder and harder to sustain in the face of escalating poverty and deprivation, making her ever more vulnerable to gossip-mongers. The townspeople are ignorant in their view of both Mussolini and Malena. Indeed, the film equates the subsequent fate of Malena with that of Italy in general and Sicily in particular. Mussolini may be of vastly less importance to Renato than Malena, but not to Tornatore.ĭrawing from a short story by veteran screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni, the movie shows the citizens of Castelcuto to be ardent admirers of Il Duce-Renato’s leftist father seems the rare exception-thrilled to hear his declaration of war. But “Malena’ is no “Summer of ’42,” and while Renato becomes swiftly obsessed with the object of his passion to the extent that he spends all his free time spying on her, she does not seem to be aware of his existence. We have here all the makings of a classic brief encounter between the gorgeous but lonely “older'-Malena is but 27-woman who inducts a sensitive youth into manhood. He projects onto her a nobility of spirit, a purity of heart, that are actually qualities he possesses himself. Unlike the other males of the seaside town of Castelcuto, Renato loves her even more than he lusts after her. Fired by the movies he loves as much as the somewhat younger hero of “Cinema Paradiso,” Renato imagines he is Tarzan to her Jane, among other couples of the silver screen.

Every male between adolescence and senility openly lusts after her every woman, consumed with envy, loathes her and besmirches her reputation.

Malena needs only to stroll through town on her ankle-strap wedgies to cause an uproar. Her husband is already off to war, leaving Malena with her aged, deaf father. Malena is an awesomely beautiful young woman with a spectacular figure. The last of these three events was by far the most important, for Renato is hit simultaneously with the full onslaught of sexual desire and grand passion. Three things happened to 12 1/2-year-old Renato Amoroso (Giuseppe Sulfaro) on July 10, 1940: He was given his first bicycle Mussolini declared war on France and Great Britain and he laid eyes on Malena Scordia (Monica Bellucci) for the first time.

But “Malena” is a much tougher, riskier movie than “Cinema Paradiso,” yet just as successful as his 1990 Oscar winner. Once again we’re in an enchanting, ancient Sicilian city once again Tornatore is dealing with a coming-of-age theme. After the bravura esoterica of such films as “A Pure Formality” and “The Legend of 1900,” Giuseppe Tornatore, with “Malena,” returns to the wide appeal of his classic “Cinema Paradiso.”

Malèna movie