Malena (2000) is a movie which revolves around a soldier's wife left alone in a small Sicilian town where Benito Mussolini was considered to be a hero. Being an extraordinary beauty, she attracts the attention of the men in her community, including a young boy by the name of Renato. Renato develops a deep infatuation for Malena and proceeds to observe her daily activities. Malena's popularity with men caused a deep jealousy for the women in her town. When news that her husband died broke out, Malena was forced to become a prostitute to survive. The women's hatred towards her worsened; it came to a point when she was attacked by them. She was then driven out of town. After a couple of days, her husband arrived in town and looked for Malena. With Renato's help, the couple was reunited and returned back in town where they started a new life.
The movie was character-oriented. It was focused on the diverse personalities of each character. The character portrayed by Monica Belluci (Malena) was a strong woman. It takes a great deal of patience to ignore nasty gossips and criticisms about you. It also is very courageous to return to the town where you faced great ridicule and pain. Furthermore, Giuseppe Sulfaro's (Renato) character was indeed an adolescent boy becoming aware of his sexual urges.
It is really very difficult to find the perfect location for a movie that focuses on a small town in a countryside so I give my congratulations to the cast and crew of the movie. According to my research, it was shot in Castelcuto, Sicily and the setting was perfect!
The theme of the movie was young love amidst the presence of a hostile society. Renato's infatuation and deep admiration for Malena evolved into love. At the very last moment, Renato found the courage in him to tell Malena's husband her whereabouts because the boy was deeply concerned about her.
As the director and writer, Giuseppe Tornatore's style seemed to center in the presence of a number of symbols. First, there was Renato's shorts. His act of wearing shorts everywhere he goes signify his being a kid, his innocence and youth. However, when he started wearing pants, he was seen as someone who is already matured. His unsent letters to Malena represent his uncertainty, fear and cowardice. The hole where Renato used to peep at Malena signifies the one-sided connection between the two of them. Renato, who uses it to observe Malena develops a connection with her while Malena, who is unaware that someone is watching her, does not get to know Renato's person. The bike, which Renato got at the start of them movie, was a sign that he was already part of the clique. It also signifies the new experience of knowing Malena. When she learned that her husband died in battle she started wearing black clothes, which represents her mourning nd grieve. At the center of the movie, we see Malena cutting off her long locks. This exemplifies her transition from being a faithful widow to being a priced prostitute in order to live. There was also another scene where Malena held a cigarette to her lip and all the men wanted to light it up. This connotes that all the men wanted to "light up her fire" or in other words, spend the night with her. Lastly, when it was when it was shown that Renato was throwing the record, it meant that he was determined to forget her.
As a whole, I liked the movie. However, I'm having a hard time determining its relevance to modern society so if there was really a significance, it was not emphasized enough. I recommend that some scenes be deleted to give way to more striking scenes.
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