Movie review - Malena

I've written before about how I love Monica Bellucci in a totally lesbian way as well as my hopelessly inept attempt at learning italian. These two were united as I watched the 2000 movie Malèna. Spoilers abound in this review, so watch out!!!

In 1941, Maddalena Scordia, known simply as Malèna, arrives in Castelcuto, a small town in Sicily, the new wife of a local lieutenant. When he is sent off the fight in the war, her beauty and aloof manner keeps her separate from the local populace: the men don't hide their desire for her which enrages the women. The only people in the entire town on her side are her elderly father who teaches latin at the school, and Renato (Giuseppe Sulfaro) a shy 12 year old boy for whom Malèna is the ideal woman. Everyday as she walks from her seaside home, through the central piazza, to her father's house, Malèna deals with the catcalls and jealous gossip while Renato tries to ride his bike near at various parts of her path. After news that her husband has died reaches the village, the tensions that Malèna arouses in various parts of the populace reach boiling point, mirrored by the political climate of the time, as Renato looks helplessly on.

This film is beautiful and depressing in so many ways. The story is essentially a coming of age of Renato - he literally begins to feel himself becoming a man on his first glimpse of Malèna during one of her walks - the director, Giuseppe Trovatore, has indicated that it also serves as an allegory of Italy before, during, and after WWII. We see the story through Renato's eyes, and so while we're given glimpses of humour as he imagines himself as Malèna's hero in via movie roles (Tarzan and Jane, Stagecoach), we're also made witness to the various indignities that she's put through, her ostracisation from the females and harassment from males, her rape by the lawyer she hired to defend her in a divorce case, being beaten and shorn by the women in the piazza after the Allied Forces arrival, and her leaving and eventual return to Castelcuto. And while we and Renato want to intervene in what he witnesses, we are constantly reminded that he is only a boy and there is little he can do. There's an absolutely heartbreaking scene when he spies her crying after the news her husband has died and Renato imagines himself climbing into her room to comfort her with the words "From now on, I'll be by your side. Forever. Just give me time to grow up." So he takes revenge against the townspeople in little ways - spitting in the drink of a man who boasts, and urinating in a bag of a woman who calls her a slut.

The acting. I can not rave enough about Giuseppe Sulfaro's performance. With his great puppydog eyes and semi-broken voice we see all of Renato's feelings. Amazement at first glimpse of Malèna, relief at discovering that the person she gets dressed up to visit everyday is her father, his anger and despair when things start spiralling out of control, and of course, lust. His best scenes in my opinion are when he goes to the local church and going from saint to saint, trying to decide which would be the best to light a votive candle for the protection of Malèna. After having sprained his arm and leg falling from a tree after witnessing the rape, he returns limping to the church, and in a quiet manner, absolves the saint before quickly striking and breaking off the plaster statue's hand in rage that the saint didn't keep to its side of the bargain. For Monica Bellucci's performance, she does well in a role without much dialogue, her performance mostly being almost solely action. I present this clip:

Destitute (as seen by the broken shoes) and having been coerced into cutting off her hair as payment for food, she decides to turn to prostitution for food and income. I love how in this clip, we see her giving the entire town the proverbial finger by her strut into the piazza, casual crossing of legs, and waiting for the townsmen to light the cigarette. It's a change from the way she usually walks through demurely, head and eyes lowered. But also in this scene, we see her vulnerability and unhappiness that it's come to this by the way she won't meet anyone's eyes once she's sat down and the stiff hold of her shoulders and face.

I'd just like to make a comment about the music. The score by Ennio Morricone is brilliant and contains a several bars of music that have since been turned into the song *You're Still You* by Josh Groban, the lyrics of which attest that while time has been cruel to the person in particular, he knows the person inside is still the person he fell in love with. With regards to Renato's feelings for Malèna, knowing the song was a nice touch.

Moving and thoughtful, humourous yet unflinching of more serious themes, Malèna is a wonderfully and hauntingly beautiful movie. I'm not sure how much italian I got out of it, but I know that I'll recommend it to people who aren't interested in the language.
8.5/10