johnnyboyz It is not Malèna's fault she is so beautiful, nor is it her fault that she happens to find herself living in a society at a very specific point in history which happened to place a heavy emphasis on the appearance and internal makeup of a person: Italian; white; patriot; Catholic, etc. This is a film about beauty as much as it is beautiful people - certainly by the end of the film, all sorts of different individuals have sandwiched into their minds preconceptions on our eponymous herald, but a large chunk of the film is about what really transpired over a period of around four and a half years. It is also a film about behaviour - behaviour and outlooks at a time and in a place when behaviour and outlooks are scrutinised to within the inch. It is difficult for many of the men who live in the small Sicilian town in 1939 wherein "Malèna" is set to balance their lust for the eponymous woman with the honour they are supposed to feel towards their own spouses and the Catholic faith. Where director Giuseppe Tornatore toys with things in this respect lies in his placing of a young boy at the very epicentre of the film. At twelve years of age, Renato (Giuseppe Sulfaro) is too young for politics; religion and wives, and because he is so young he will never hook up with Malèna in the first place. Irrespective, he is still on the outside looking in like everybody else anyway. Amidst the ugliness of war; fascism; a volatile homestead situation and seclusion from a group of other boys, Monica Bellucci's Malèna character is both a visual tonic for our Renato as well as a key into an alternate reality where they are together; happy and blissfully ignorant of all the pain and misery which engulfs both of their worlds. But because the film takes place so long ago, there are no modern quick-fixes to relieve the cupid's arrow - having spent an afternoon spying on Malèna at her house, Renato has a pretty good idea of what music she likes to listen to, and must purchase it at the local music store if he wants to be reminded of her. The only problem is, he doesn't know what it is called, obviously, and must embarrass himself by singing it to the clerk in the vain hope he will recognise it. The film is emboldened by that sense of the nostalgic and of the romantic in this regard.Tornatore depicts the fascination Renato comes to possess of Malèna, the bulwark of the film, in such a way that we genuinely feel that the boy has come to feel a fondness for her that is authentic. We are already aware of just how out of favour Renato is with other boys in the town of his age, who bully him and pick on him. Their own fondness for Malèna is more superficial; they are not shy of crudely expressing their lust for her as she walks past them. We do not sense that they have the ability, or even the creativity, to visualise themselves in a motion-picture with her. In a film that is the antithesis to something like an "American Pie" sequel, or the ugly younger sibling to any of those films in the form of "Superbad", this is to be applauded. If you want to cover this sort of coming-of-age material, and give it a sprinkling of situational comedy, "Malèna" is how to do it.

raz-shuki What an absolute delight to the senses. The melancholy music by Ennio Morricone, the 1940s scenery of a small Sicilian town, the amazing beauty and dignified demeanor of Monica Bellucci, the unflinching portrait of small-town gossip and jealousy - all combine to make a magnificent story with moments of incredible humor, sadness, passion and redemption. I drank in every minute of it. Highly recommended

lunablacklight First of all, if there is any mistakes in my grammar I apologize. English is not my first language. The film is a piece of art in many topics. Bellucci's character was perfect for her. Most of all because her character winks her real life career and stereotypes. It would be perfect if at the end, Malena will return as she has always been. Not as a prudent married woman. The film is great but after all the exaggeration with her sex appeal and the city people obsession that was most at all misogynist. The least that the plot should did was to make a strong statement about women reality and oppression conditions. And for more reasons because of the historic and political moment where the story takes place. This diminish the film significance for me.

Terence Frederick Malèna Scordia shown as an object of desire for men and an object to envy for women. Set in 1940, the movie deals with the story of 27 year old beautiful widow in an Italian village. From the eyes of Renato, a 12 year old, Malèna arouses sensual feelings (quite normal as the other kids in the neighborhood) and I admire the way the director shows it in a series of scenes. The way the boy's father beats and scolds deserves laugh and applause. IMO, I feel that the director pushed way too hard abusing the character (Malèna) almost every other scene and it makes the viewers feel that the village women ain't got other work than abusing the poor widow. The level of sentiment quotient in this work makes it one short of being 'Irresistible', yet Monica Bellucci looks Irresistible in the scene where she is dressed as the Holy Mother