Reviews of Malèna

Malèna review

Posted : 9 months, 2 weeks ago on 29 March 2008 07:48 (A review of Malèna)

Malena is set in World War II era Sicily and focuses on a young local boy, Renato, and his obsession with a beautiful woman. Malena is always the talk of the town, turning heads and inviting dozens of spiteful remarks from women who can not abide her beauty whenever she leaves the house.

As the war progresses, hardships on the townsfolk build up and when the two men in Malena's life (her husband and her father) are presumed dead, she struggles to carry on without an honest wage or provider. No man will employ her for fear of his own wife and no woman can see past her own insane jealousy to give her a job. Through his obsessions, Renato discovers the true story behind Malena and her actions and is disgusted by the misconceptions of her bounded about the town by gossiping locals. When salvation arrives for the town in the form of a liberating American army, Malena is brutally driven out of the town.

I only sought out this film because of Monica Bellucci, but I was definitely not disappointed. She is much more natural in Italian speaking roles! It's a solid storyline tinged with memorable characters and many funny moments. I was grateful for the turnaround at the end of the film too, which fitted in with the feel-good factor of the movie.

0 comments, Reply to this entry