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Malena
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Italian
Drama
Feature film
2000
At first, Malena feels more like a twelve-year-old's wet dream fantasy than the coming-of-age story that it really is. Renato, caught in that uncomfortable boundary between boy and man, is swept off of his horny feet by Malena, a local young beauty whose husband just brought her back to his ancestral home from Messina. The story takes place just at the start of World War II and Malena's newly wed husband is drafted off to war, leaving Malena alone in a strange place full of gossips and busybodies, not to mention a bushelfull of men who see Malena only as an object of desire.
Renato falls head over heels with Malena and haunts her every move. Only he, therefore, hears the gossips wag their jealous tongues, and only Renato spies on Malena to see the truth of her life. Malena's beauty turns every man's head in town, and because of this the women of the town are convinced that she is a whore.
When the town learns that Malena's husband is the first to fall in Africa, things go from bad to worse for the poor widow. Now that's she's free to pursue, everyone pursues her. Malena even goes on trial for suspected seduction, but her lawyer is able to convince the judge that the only crime for which she is guilty is that of being beautiful. She is acquitted (and her married accuser put in a mental institution), but then the lawyer comes to collect his fees from Malena's body.
Their pending marriage is dashed by the lawyer's mother who won't let her son marry that strumpet. Malena finds it increasingly difficult to eat, and eventually is forced to turn into the whore that the townsfolk thought her to be.
During this Renato starts off fantasizing about Malena and how they would be together, he would be her savior, and he would vindicate her in front of the entire town. He does nothing publicly about his fantasies (privately is a whole other story), and merely watches as Malena is forced to give pieces of her pride away in order to survive.
As the war progresses, Renato is allowed some of the privileges of manhood -- long pants, sitting a the adult seat in the barber's, et cetera. When he sees Malena walk down the street announcing her sexual availability to the town, he falls into a swoon. His mother takes him to the priest, convinced he's possessed. His father takes him to a brothel, knowing that he's a young man with very strong needs. This point of the movie marks a turning point with Renato and his father. Prior to this, his father punished Renato for his fantasies. Now that he's a man, Renato may actually experience his fantasies.
The war peaks, and the Americans arrive in the town, liberating them from the Germans. The women immediately hunt down Malena, beat her and shear her hair in vengeance for seducing their men. Malena leaves town and only Renato is there to see her off -- even though she never sees him.
As the soldiers return to town, so does Malena's husband, Nino. He was never killed, but he did lose an arm, became a prisoner of war, and had malaria. Of course, the first thing he does is look for Malena. Renato dogs his every step. Only after a while do the townsfolk reveal that Malena was a prostitute. Devastated, Nino returns to the home they shared, which is now a refugee camp. Renato writes Nino a letter and delivers it to him anonymously. He tells Nino that he alone knows the whole truth and while the town says nasty things, Malena was true to Nino always -- she only ever loved him. Renato has learned something of courage from her, and tells Nino where to find Malena.
Malena and Nino return to town together, making a silent statement with their presence. She's still beautiful, but Nino's presence changes everything in the eyes of the women of the town. They welcome her back, asking forgiveness in small, subtle ways. Rather than strike back, Malena accepts their apology.
As Malena walks from the market to her home, she drops some oranges from her bag. Renato finally finds the courage to approach her. He helps her with the oranges, and wishes her good luck. She knows what he means, and she replies back with a thank you. Now Renato can move on, that chapter of his life finally ended.
Once Malena moved beyond the wet-dream aspect of Renato's life, I really enjoyed the story. It was beautiful to watch, the actors were very good and the story completely believable. You could watch Renato struggle with his desire to be a white knight, and the reality of his station as a boy. His persistence allowed Nino and Malena to find each other again. The fact that he told Nino where to find Malena showed a good deal of courage for him -- he was consciously giving up his fantasies because the reality was these two people loved each other and he didn't have a place in Malena's life. Rather than give in to the pervasive jealousy, he helped heal a rift.
Overall a good, solid movie.
Drama
Feature film
2000
At first, Malena feels more like a twelve-year-old's wet dream fantasy than the coming-of-age story that it really is. Renato, caught in that uncomfortable boundary between boy and man, is swept off of his horny feet by Malena, a local young beauty whose husband just brought her back to his ancestral home from Messina. The story takes place just at the start of World War II and Malena's newly wed husband is drafted off to war, leaving Malena alone in a strange place full of gossips and busybodies, not to mention a bushelfull of men who see Malena only as an object of desire.
Renato falls head over heels with Malena and haunts her every move. Only he, therefore, hears the gossips wag their jealous tongues, and only Renato spies on Malena to see the truth of her life. Malena's beauty turns every man's head in town, and because of this the women of the town are convinced that she is a whore.
When the town learns that Malena's husband is the first to fall in Africa, things go from bad to worse for the poor widow. Now that's she's free to pursue, everyone pursues her. Malena even goes on trial for suspected seduction, but her lawyer is able to convince the judge that the only crime for which she is guilty is that of being beautiful. She is acquitted (and her married accuser put in a mental institution), but then the lawyer comes to collect his fees from Malena's body.
Their pending marriage is dashed by the lawyer's mother who won't let her son marry that strumpet. Malena finds it increasingly difficult to eat, and eventually is forced to turn into the whore that the townsfolk thought her to be.
During this Renato starts off fantasizing about Malena and how they would be together, he would be her savior, and he would vindicate her in front of the entire town. He does nothing publicly about his fantasies (privately is a whole other story), and merely watches as Malena is forced to give pieces of her pride away in order to survive.
As the war progresses, Renato is allowed some of the privileges of manhood -- long pants, sitting a the adult seat in the barber's, et cetera. When he sees Malena walk down the street announcing her sexual availability to the town, he falls into a swoon. His mother takes him to the priest, convinced he's possessed. His father takes him to a brothel, knowing that he's a young man with very strong needs. This point of the movie marks a turning point with Renato and his father. Prior to this, his father punished Renato for his fantasies. Now that he's a man, Renato may actually experience his fantasies.
The war peaks, and the Americans arrive in the town, liberating them from the Germans. The women immediately hunt down Malena, beat her and shear her hair in vengeance for seducing their men. Malena leaves town and only Renato is there to see her off -- even though she never sees him.
As the soldiers return to town, so does Malena's husband, Nino. He was never killed, but he did lose an arm, became a prisoner of war, and had malaria. Of course, the first thing he does is look for Malena. Renato dogs his every step. Only after a while do the townsfolk reveal that Malena was a prostitute. Devastated, Nino returns to the home they shared, which is now a refugee camp. Renato writes Nino a letter and delivers it to him anonymously. He tells Nino that he alone knows the whole truth and while the town says nasty things, Malena was true to Nino always -- she only ever loved him. Renato has learned something of courage from her, and tells Nino where to find Malena.
Malena and Nino return to town together, making a silent statement with their presence. She's still beautiful, but Nino's presence changes everything in the eyes of the women of the town. They welcome her back, asking forgiveness in small, subtle ways. Rather than strike back, Malena accepts their apology.
As Malena walks from the market to her home, she drops some oranges from her bag. Renato finally finds the courage to approach her. He helps her with the oranges, and wishes her good luck. She knows what he means, and she replies back with a thank you. Now Renato can move on, that chapter of his life finally ended.
Once Malena moved beyond the wet-dream aspect of Renato's life, I really enjoyed the story. It was beautiful to watch, the actors were very good and the story completely believable. You could watch Renato struggle with his desire to be a white knight, and the reality of his station as a boy. His persistence allowed Nino and Malena to find each other again. The fact that he told Nino where to find Malena showed a good deal of courage for him -- he was consciously giving up his fantasies because the reality was these two people loved each other and he didn't have a place in Malena's life. Rather than give in to the pervasive jealousy, he helped heal a rift.
Overall a good, solid movie.
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