Malena is a film made in Italian language and you have english subtitles.
The background setting was that of Second World War time Italy.
This film had won the Oscar award for the best foreign film and an award for best cinematography.
Many film reviews consider this as a masterpiece. Do not think that it may be a boring film because it was award winner. In fact this film takes you by storm with sudden twist of the story. Some may even think that the director had lost the focus.
Though the film was released in the year 2001, I saw this film only recently by purchasing a DVD for home theatre.
I personally feel that this is one of the best films I had seen in recent times. It is most memorable and you would find it difficult to forget the characters in this film. A hindi movie “ek chotisi love story” copied this film only to a little extent may be up to the half of it.
The Italian actress who was portrayed as the most beautiful woman in a town was indeed really beautiful. In the film she was Malena and her real name is Monica Bellucci.
There is something very extraordinary about her.
The film deals with a beautiful lonely woman and a small town of ordinary people where most housewives are extremely jealous of Malena. And Malena simply exhibits her beauty, by wearing good dresses, walking with all the elegance in the world with a “don’t the care the world a bit” type of attitude.
Her husband was on the border fighting in World War II. She was all alone and she was extremely beautiful. All men try to talk to her. Customary kiss on the back of her hand would turn into a sucking her wrist and even the most aged people would misbehave. The housewives, the normal “ladies next door “ types would be extremely jealous. The society has the suppressed sexual desires or unsatisfied desires and this would cause lot of trouble for Malena. There is nothing wrong with Malena. The only fault was that she was beautiful and that it seemed to them that she was happy as well.
Many rumours spread and all types of nasty comments are made while she walks on the road. Even a schoolboy Renato follows her on his bicycle with a lot of sexual desire but with an innocent outlook and a great admiration as well. He only knows the truth that her evening visit to a dentist was to work almost like a maidservant and that so called dentist surprisingly old, almost in his seventies. And her visit to an old building where the key to the gate would be dropped by from window was indeed to visit her own ageing father!!
Do you remember any of those beautiful girls in your locality and how thick rumours would spread around her ? The lesser souls would weave wonderful stories which is indeed thick with lies.
A day had come. A suspecting housewife dragged her to court.
The incidents follow with as much speed as the second world war itself where Mussolini brought Italy to the verge of destruction.
Immediately after the defeat of Italy and as American soldiers entered Italy the housewives in this small town got a chance.
They dragged Malena to the street and had beaten her. They cut her hair that was the most beautiful hair dress you had seen. The tear her clothes. Malena almost half naked, totally bruised, blood dripping of her mouth, her hands shaking, covering her breasts she had run in the street.
It is not the end of the film.
The end of the film gives great importance to that little kid, the schoolboy Renato who follows her everywhere but helpless to do anything for her either. Even while the housewives beat her up he was one of those male guys who watch the ‘tamasha’
But in the end her husband returns alive from the war and that what gives this little kid Renato a great importance in the story.
It is like Italy itself limping back to normalcy after the war. It was directed by Guccippe Tornatore. There is probably an allegorical hint to Italy’s participation in the world war II but even if it is not it does not matter.
The life in the Film is more than real.
The moral of the film ?
You can be misunderstood if you exhibit what you have. The lesser souls in this world would not let you live out of jealousy. If you have wealth do not exhibit. If you have knowledge do not show it off. If you are beautiful keep a low profile.
That is the art of living.