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Malena | Year: 2000 Classification: Foreign Film - Italian Directed: - Giuseppe Tornatore Actors/Actresses: - Monica Bellucci - Giuseppe Sulfaro One of the best! Malena is truly a great film. It works on so many levels. I have a relative who doesn't usually like foreign films but had to admit this is a great one. Its funny, its sad and it has a message. The story of the beautiful Malena is one that is heart-breaking. Malena is a beautiful woman whose husband is fighting in World War II and is left alone in this town. She is subjected to constant rumours and harassment by the men and women in their village. Renato is the young boy obsessed with her. He is also the only person who knows the truth about her and knows she doesn't do the things people say she does. Malena wasn't dating everyone, she was sewing for people into the night, carrying her husband's picture and dancing to their favorite music. The sad thing is that Malena has to become what everyone had labeled her once word got back that her husband was killed. Women refused to sell her food and she had to sleep with men to survive. There is a scene towards the end that really upset me. This movie shows how rotten both the men and the women were to her. Malena shows how dangerous lies and assumptions are to a person's standing in their community and their own self-respect. Malena is a very funny movie at times. There are scenes with Renato that made me laugh out loud. However, its a film that goes deeper than many out there. I would have to say this has become one of my all-time favorites. A beautiful, thought-provoking film. I'M FORCED TO GIVE IT 5 STARS Although in reality, this is a 4 star movie, when you tear it apart-the script is average, and there are too many scenes with the title character (Malena) walking through the town, getting looked over by men and boys of all ages. But I still can't give this film four stars.Why?It's such a deeply affecting and touching story-for me.I mean, this movie really struck a chord with me.The acting is subtle, and superb.The cinematography is very pleasing to the eyes, and it combines comedic elements with events so harsh they drove me to tears. No really, I was just hysterical, I literally could not watch, it hurt so much(I'm not gonna tell you at what parts though).So, here's a quick layout of the plot-It's set in small Italian village in 1940's Italy.And all around, all the talk is of the beautiful Malena(Monica Bellucci).Women do nothing but gloss her over with nasty gossip, because, duh they're jealous-She's young,beautiful beyond all comprehension, and all their husbands worship her.And men see her as nothing more than a mere sex object.The whole town talks about how she has all these lovers and is a complete whore with zero moral conscience.In actuality, she's actually a faithful, down to earth woman who does nothing more than take care of her elderly father, and sit at home, awaiting her husband's(who's off at war)return. A scene which shows Malena dancing to a record with her husbands picture in the privacy of her own home works very effectively, not to mention offers a glimpse into her private life, one which you seldom get to see.It's all about what Malena is on the surface.You get to tell for yourself what Malena is really like.Anyway, so the short and short of it, is that what every one says about Malena is total bull, and depite her awe-inspiring appearance, leads a very lonely life. Women let their jealousy eat them alive, and don't want anything to do with Malena, and men do want something to do with Malena, but that only something is sex.Throughout what appears to be a few years, Malena experiences tradgedy of all sorts-her father is killed in a local bombing,she gets word that her husband died too, women at the market refuse to sell her food at the market, resulting Malena become the very thing she was once so unjustly accused of.And not to give away too much,but this results in that very scene, which is both haunting, shocking, and heartbraking.I swear, it tore the s&%t out of me.if that scene doesn't do something to you,stop reading this review right now, and go get a check up at the doctor's to see if you have a heart.This results in Malena leaving the town, and, soon you have the ending, which is both heartbraking,fragile, and true to life.It wasn't something blown out of proportion, or sugary sweet, it was just perfect.Fresh from a sobfest, I cried once more , but this time because I was so touched.But,let it be said, that Malena is not the main character in the movie, she is rather the base of the movie, what holds everything to ETMR - Malena 1. Humanity: The boy Renato, we learn, is a free spirit. He expresses, out of all the characters in the film, the willingness to step outside his natural, cultural boundaries and grow past his traditional philosophy. This film is not only about the life of Malena, but also about Renato's growth into an adult. What events force Renato to grow into this new kind of thinking? 2. Implications: The film shows the evolution of Europe, and the break from traditional values, not only through Renato but through the insanity of the war. In what ways does the movie show a critical eye to the old world? 3. Evolution: In what ways is the movie distinctly European, and yet more in detail, distinctly Italian? Do you think the film is trying to make a general statement on the madness of war, or is it trying to make a visceral attack on the rigidity of Italian traditionalism? 4. Realism: The story premise is interesting: imagine if you had a guardian angel in the form of a young boy, but you never knew he existed... do you think the set-up of the story was meant to describe an actual sequence of events with the boy, or is the movie playing a more important role with symbolism? 5. Stageplay: The script provides for a seedier look at the foundations of Fascist Italy. Do you think what was included was sufficient, do you think it was lacking in raw material, or do you think it contained too much teenage sensuality? Buy Malena at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Malena Search with the Priority Search Engine on Malena This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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