I still vividly remember my first crush, a popular kid from my building. How I spend hours standing in front of neighbour’s house, from where his house was visible, to just get a glimpse of him and notice me. How I would try to get his attention through my soda water glasses and he would always just ignore me and walk by. How one day I plucked up the courage to tell him that I am madly infatuated and that telling him was the only way to get over it!
Today we are the best of friends, agony aunts to each other in turn and life is good. I am sure most of us have, at one time or the other, given our heart away and got it crushed. Maybe we haven’t even ever had courage to speak that person and yet they have changed our life forever, taught us about growing up and about the difference between friendship, love, lust and respect.
Malena is essentially a story seen through the eyes of a teenage boy, Renato in a small town in Italy, about a most beautiful woman the town has seen, Malena.
The story starts with Mussolini having declared war and Renato along with his dad has gone to buy a second hand bicycle for himself. As soon as he gets it, he goes to show it off to a bunch of guys whose group he wants to be a part of (remember when you desperately wanted to be a part of the popular group?). By majority vote is accepted, but told to learn to keep his mouth shut! (No allusions to our MS!) Curious about what they are about to do, he just follows the mad rush, and soon knows what is happening. Out of a small house comes out, Malena (stunningly gorgeous Monica Belluci) and starts walking into the town, followed by sighs and lewd remarks from his friends.
Renato has seen her for the first time and is dumbstruck by her beauty and feels his interest rising then and there (if you know what I mean??!!). Starting then she is an object of his lust and more than that some deep kind of love. A naïve and fierce protective instinct which comes over him, every time he sees people thinking only about sleeping with her.
Malena, on her part, has come to this town after marrying an army officer, who has gone on war within a month of their exchanging the vows. Her old and deaf father has also moved here, teaching Latin at Renato’s school. She is lusted after by all men (age no bar) and envied and eventually hated by ALL women in the town. The fact that kills them is that she is as virtuous as she is beautiful. They continually gossip about her and keep trying to find link ups. She cannot get a job, even though she needs the money, because no wife in this town was going to let her husband employ Malena. (it would kulhadi maroing on her own foot, otherwise).
Eventually comes the news that her husband is dead and all the men are gleefully rubbing their hands and betting who would get in first (sic but true). She has nothing to eat and her father’s death breaks her completely. Left with no option, but to use her beauty to earn a living, Malena walks into the town for with short blond hair, bloody red lipstick and a hint of cleavage that told people she is now on the market. The scene where she cuts her hair long, raven hair and bleaches it blond kills you.
Renato meanwhile is acting crazy and his mother is trying all holy treatments to get rid of evil spirit possessing her son. His father knows that it’s his son’s raging hormones that are doing this and takes him to a brothel. It is one of the high points of the movie, when his dad realizes that he is now ready to be a man and the subtle exchange they have is beautiful. Yet his love for Malena keeps growing and he watches her degradation with silent pain, still hoping for her redemption.
At the end of the war, all women gang up against Malena… they cut her hair and beat her up and throw her out of the town. This scene is so harrowing that it will not leave you for quite some time.
In time, her husband comes back (he is not dead!) and nobody in town ahs the guts to tell him about his wife, not because of her morality, but theirs. Renato has last seen Malena and sends her husband a note giving all the details he has.
One day, all the streets go silent again, and hushed whispers create a buzz. Malena is walking on the streets of the town again, this time her arm in her husbands, he with his head held high telling the world they better respect her and she hardly looking up out of fear.
Yet, the people in town respect her for her guts and still ashamed of their behaviour are more than ready to make up for their sins, welcome her with open arms. Malena accepts the good wishes with as much grace, as she accepted their ugly barbs.
The movie ends with Renato, talking to his fantasy, for the first time, wishing her good luck in life.
The performance by Renato is absolutely brilliant and Monica Belluci with hardly any dialogues emotes beautifully as the seductress in Renato’s dreams, the wronged woman and a dutiful wife. Her husband in a short cameo exudes helplessness and strength perfectly. Renato’s dad as the hot-tempered guy rocks!
The movie is in Italian and the DVD has English subtitles.
The movie is a simple story about a boy becoming a man, understanding a woman’s courage, true love between a man and woman and respect. It has its share of light moments that make you smile, cruelty that makes you cringe, bravery that makes you proud and moments of tenderness that make you believe in humanity once again. It has elements of nudity, though very brief and gorgeously done.
Life, in the end, is all about, Love… in every form.