Malena

I had heard and read a lot about Malena on many online discussion forums. Yesterday I got the opportunity to see the Italian version with English subtitles. Malena is a beautiful and deeply touching film. It is a masterful combination of sites, sounds and colors. It is a coming of age story of a young boy, who carries us along on a journey of love, lust and maturity. We watch helplessly as his innocent perspectives about life are jarred by the realities of society, while he watches helplessly the misfortunes of the beautiful Malena. The movie attempts to critique the savagery inherent in the 'civilized' society of men. Throughout the story, we experience cruelty that we, as public can inflict upon an individual. It attempts to lay bare the gross hypocrisy and fragile morals that hide just beneath the surface.

Malena is breathtakingly beautiful. It is her beauty that produces the feverish lust in a men, and the severe and horrible envy in a woman. The viewer's feelings of appreciation for Malena's beauty are slowly overtaken by a feeling of utter despair for Malena's beauty, which is the cause of all her woes.

The selection of Monica Bellucci (Malena Scordia) and Giuseppe Sulfaro (Renatto Amoroso) as the main characters is simply excellent and they deliver a solid performance. The director Giuseppe Tornature is all the time in control of this movie. Malena is shown from the eyes of an adolescent Renatto. He is all of twelve years and has a crush on her. Because of all the hate and false love that is showered on her, he believes he is in love with her. At one point in the film in his fantasies he actually says- From now on, I'll be at your side. Forever, I promise. Just give me time to grow up.

Malena has an aura of tragedy, of some profound and unrelenting emotional trauma and pain which remains unspoken throughout the film and reaches its climax at the very end. Throughout the movie, Malena's stunningly beautiful eyes remain constantly downcast, and her face tense with some unknown pain. Infact she rarely raises her face throughout the film, let alone speaks words.

This is a movie that most men, who in their adolescence have had crush on an elder woman would relate to. The soundtrack plays an important role to move the story ahead and bring out the emotions in young Renatto's mind. The soundtrack was nominated for Oscar and Globe awards.

Here is My Synopsis Of This Amazing Movie-
The year 1940. Italy enters the war and twelve year old Renatto is gifted his first bicycle. On the same day he sees Malena and is besotted by her beauty. Her husband Nico goes on war and she is left alone in the small town. The women jealous of her beauty while the men lust for her. This puts her in enormous difficulties. Then the news arrives that her husband is killed in the war. Her troubles increase. She is also charged with breaking a marriage and made to attend a public court hearing. She is left penniless and is forced to take up prostitution.

German troops invade this small town and she has to serve them as well. By now the women of the town are convinced that she is a slut. After the war Germany has to retract and the people celebrate by destroying everything German. The women take their revenge on Malena by pulling her out from her house and disrobing and beating her. Her lustrous hair is cut and she is kicked out.

Hurt by the humiliation Malena leaves the town. A few days later her husband arrives and hears all bad things about Malena. Renatto anonymously writes to him that she was faithful to Nico and it was only the circumstances that were imposed on her that led to her downfall. Nico goes and returns to the village with her.

Now that she has a husband, Malena suddenly becomes respectable in the eyes of the women. The last shot of this movie summarises it all when Malena turns her head and finds Renatto. She half smiles as she leaves and he also moves on glancing behind at her.

Personally I would have preferred that the movie should have ended when Nico leaves the town to search for Malena. But still the movie is superb.
Note : Malena is R rated.