Malena

Rating:
Summary: A magical tale
Review: I love Love stories (even if it's not that cool...) and this is an especially magical one.

The movie tells the platonic love between 12 years old Renato that falls for beautiful Malena - the town most attractive woman. The one who men admire and women envy and hate. It is told from his point of view and with the background of the last years of Mussolini rule and the first years of WW2.
The story is beautiful tale that mixes up the sad reality with the boy's imaginary dreams.

It runs between cruel gossip and people lies and the true that lies underneath and is seen only to the eyes of the innocent boy.
I felt so involved in the film that I wanted to stop it sometimes and rewrite the scenes as it was so painful. The balance between the innocent boy point of view, the painful beauty of Malena and the evil and vicious of the village people is treated by the director (Giuseppe Tornatore) very gently so after all you left over with bitter-sweat taste but with the powerful emotional experience.

Monica Bellucci is amazing as sensual Malena and Giuseppe Sulfaro is unforgettable as Renato, the 12 years old boy. Giuseppe Tornatore is a great fairy tales weaver and he follow the same great story of Cinema Paradiso with this great new love story.
Tornatore is so great with creating the exact atmosphere and paying attention to the smallest as biggest details, you can actually FEEL the movie.
Purely a magnificent poetry.

Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Film
Review: This lovely and heart-wrenching movie was made even more special by the fact that the two main characters barely speak (well, one of them IS the narrator). I had never heard of the beautiful actress Monica Belluci (Malena) but now look forward to seeing her perform again. She was exquisite and spoke volumes with just her facial expressions.

Giuseppe Sulfaro played Renato, a young boy feeling the first stirring of his sexual awakening who falls in love/lust with the beautiful Malena. His acting was very touching, especially when he goes to the church and lights a candle every day to try to ensure that Malena will come to no harm.

This coming of age film about love, jealousy, ostracism, and hate during four tumultuous years of World War II was filmed on the coast of Sicily - and what beautiful cinematography it was. The score was also magnificent, befitting the gorgeous setting.

Rating:
Summary: comic unsettling erotic
Review: this movie has a lot of range. for one, it's one of the funniest films i've scene (the scene with Renato going blind is classic). nevertheless, it's also a rather depressing tale. thank goodness for the movie's quasi happy ending! finally,... monica :o Even if you have absolutely no interest in period movies and couldn't care less about drawing parallels between the experiences of the characters and italy's political upheaval... there's always monica :)

Rating:
Summary: Do Not Buy This DVD!!!
Review: Malena is rich and beautiful film, starring the very fine Monica Bellucci in the title role. It is essentially three films in one, it contains the story of a woman who lost her husband to war, the coming of age of a young boy and also how Facism and war affected the Italian people.

Alot of other reviewers have summed up the plot and made valid comments, so I will only speak of the horrid DVD presentation. Being a huge fan of both the film and Bellucci, I wanted the single best DVD version and I'm afraid to say that this one is far from it! Miramax claim to be an independant and artistly geared studio, yeah right, they have dramaticly censored MANY great scenes from this film. Anyone not as repressed as the suits down at Miramax HQ should look into purchasing the NTSC Korean 2-Disc release. It is the ONLY completely uncut (a few minutes short than the Italian DVD due to PAL to NTSC conversion) DVD with English subtitles. The Italian disc is uncut but doesn't contain English subtitles, so it would only be good for Italian Speakers. Believe me once you see just how much this DVD is missing (over 13 min shorter than Korean NTSC, 16 min shorter than Italian PAL) you will be glad you put in the extra effort to get a real Malena DVD.

PS to the reviewer who thought that the beating of Malena scene was unrealistic or over exagerated for the film's sake, read a histroy book some time! Women who "went with Germans" were beaten, had their heads shaved and sometimes even killed in towns all over Italy and France the second the town was liberated.

Rating:
Summary: A touching coming-of-age story
Review: "Malena," written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, is a visually beautiful story set in Sicily during World War II. The film tells the story of Renato Amoroso, a young adolescent boy whose heart and hormones are both racing out of control. The object of his attention is Malena (well played by Monica Bellucci), a stunningly beautiful young woman whose husband is off fighting in the war.

Giuseppe Sulfaro is very touching in the role of young Renato; his soulful eyes communicate more than pages full of dialogue ever could. The film has some uproarious comic interludes as Renato's father tries to deal with his horny son. Also amusing are the parodies of genre films that take place in Renato's imagination. The film is beautifully enhanced by the exquisite, Oscar-nominated cinematography by Lajos Koltai. And the sweet, melancholy score by the legendary Ennio Morricone (another Oscar nomination) helps tie the film together.

Overall, "Malena" is a well-made story of sexual awakening, social ostracism, and inner strength. Although at times the film seems a bit lightweight, I found it to be entertaining and touching. Fans of Italian cinema won't want to miss it.

Rating:
Summary: Lopsided film that doesn't have much life
Review: This is a story of an Italian boy who grows a adolescent infatuation with a married woman who is so beautiful that she is horribly gossiped about. Here are the reasons this is a bad film. 1)The film often drifts into the fantasies of the main character(all of them are about Malena). At one point, this is so prevalent you wonder sometimes what's real and not. You also start to wonder why the filmaker did this and I have no real answer except that he couldn't come up with anything else. These dream sequences pull the film away from a grounding reality that the film fails to establish. 2)The title character is almost non-existant as a real character. We see her in real life and in fantasy, but she hardly says anything, or reveals anything about her inner character. This makes her a hollow basis for the film because she is in fact hollow and the character who is infatuated is vacuous as well. 3) The combination of these characteristics makes this film get to its conclusion heavyhandedly and it never feels real even if the results at the time were close to what we see. Dramatically, it's just dumb and vacuous. You wish it were more because you feel that Malena would have something interesting to say, but the filmaker chose not to. These things only approach my biggest gripes with the film. The gossip sequences, which are many, seem flippant and careless, and not the razor-sharped judgement that they would have to be in order to be a real factor in her life, which they are in the film. Sloppy, just sloppy storytelling. How the film ends is also very telling of just how bad this film truly is. He speaks about how he's loved many women, but the one he remembers best is Malena, the ideal that never came to grips with. An ending like this would be good if the film developed a relationship beyond what is in this film. This would be compelling if the protagonist was someone with more of a vocal perspective rather than a visual one. As is, it would have been far more effective to use yet another fantasy to illustrate her historic importance to him, but by then I'm sure that the film would seem incredibly redundant because of the rest of it. If this film had established the strong importance of the difference between fantasy and reality and how the protagonist felt about that it would be better. The film doesn't take this road, however, by putting in the scenes of harsh realism which aren't earned from the deadpan, flippant tone of the rest of the film.

Rating:
Summary: A heartfelt, touching film
Review: I really liked this film, and still do. The plot is well depicted from the other reviews here, so there's no point in going on. I'll just say that this is a film that stands out from the rest of the tripe being made today thanks to it's high level of filmmaking.

A lot is explored in this film, and all is explored with feeling. Set in a small Sicilian Village during WW2, this film goes into social opinion, sexual awakening, and poverty. There is much heart warming humor, as there is down right heart wrenching moments that can bring one to tears. The first few times I watched this movie, I definetly succumbed to the kleenex box.

The musical score is beautiful.It has an authentic Italian feel to it, and works very effectively with the film. It also can't hurt that the film is exceptionally shot. The cinematography is great.

The acting is also good. Giuseppe Sulfaro (playing the young teenage boy Renato in the film) is awesome. His soulful expressions and senstive performance does nothing but upscale the movie. The drop everything and watch beautiful Monica Bellucci (Malena) is wonderful.She barely utters a sound throughout the coarse of the film, and yet her expressions speak volumes that a thousand words never could.

Unfortunately, the film isn't absolutely perfect.It's great, but there are a few misses. The script lacks originality, and I felt the director could've delved a bit bellow the surface of the film's themes.

But, don't let that stop you,what this film may lack in depth of meaning, it more than makes up for in it's emotional content. I mean how many movie are perfect?Not very many, but this is one of those movies that I guarantee you will like. Anyone who appreciates great cinema will find a spot in their hearts for this gem from the heart of Italy.

Rating:
Summary: La Bella Bellucci
Review: Titillating, tantalizing, and tragic are just a few adjectives that come to mind...It takes no genius to realize Monica Bellucci is one of the most drop dead gorgeous international beauties of the current cinema. She is the Italian version bonafide beauty of Catherine Zeta Jones ! If that isn't saying much...

Belucci seems to play recurring roles of women in great distress and abuse.She does this so convincingly and makes it look so effortless that she is a rare actress who can say much with her facial expressions and actions without really saying much; It's all in the eyes, baby. Malena is the telling of a 27 year old widow left to fend for herself in a small Italian village after the downfall of her husband during WW2.No one will employ her and the women sell her rotten food;it's cruelty in severe doses for Malena. Her father has disowned her due to false allegations of being the town temptress. Men and boys alike fantasize and want her. The women hate her. In comes a young 12 year old boy named Renato Amoroso who develops an obsessive crush over Malena but guards her and holds vigil from afar. This "crush" is what propels Renato into becoming and maturing into a young man who begins to understand that there is much more to romance and life than just lustful sex. He watches and follows Malena secretly and witnesses the many transformations she goes through to survive in a town that has turned hostile against her simply because of her striking beauty ! All of this will culminate towards an unexpected ending which will leave a strong impression to stay with Renato for the rest of his life!

Cinematography is...well, it's filmed in Italy, what more can I say except stunning panoramic views of the Italian coastline.Plenty of comedic and colorful characters in the beginning. The film starts off with much humor when the viewer is permitted to see into Renato's mind concerning fantasies of farce and romance. But things turn sinister as a town bent on hate begins to enclose on Malena... The film score by Ennio Morricone is extrememly effective, captures the time period and also is very likeable and memorable ! The best surround effects take place during a German air raid over the town. You can also hear great detail in the surrounds of the ocean waves crashing and wind rustling through trees;this transports the viewer to an Italian vacation. The only gripe is that this Miramax dvd version of Malena is missing about 12 to 17 minutes of scenes that were included in the Italian or European release.This was due to more nudity involving Belluci's character and some scenes that raised eyebrows between more explicit sexual fantasies of Renato's.

Rating:
Summary: Moving Coming of age Story
Review: Malena is a moving coming of age story set in WWII Italy. It's the tale of a young boy who becomes infatuated with Malena, the town beauty. The women of the town are jealous and the men are cowardly, especially when Malena is beaten by the women when the town is liberated by the Americans. Malena was forced to turn to prostitution because nobody would give her a job. I found the scene very sad, but, unfortunately, also true to life. Malena is a movie I'll remember for a long, long time. I fully understand the young boy's feelings for Malena. The movie made it easy for the viewer to put himself/herself in his shoes. And it showed how difficult life was for a woman alone, a woman fighting for survival in WWWII. Malena is a universal story. That's why it was so popular.

Rating:
Summary: A great movie!
Review: This is such an impressive movie. I saw Cinema Paradiso (by the same director as this movie) and I thought it was good, but this really seemed even better than that. I think the director Giuseppe, the crew and the person who wrote all the musical scores to the movie really deserve the success this movie made of them. The director for his ingenious storyline and very evocative technique of shooting a film in conjunction with the development of the musical highs and lows of the orchestral score. The music is oh so crucial, IMHO, for this movie to be executed in such wondrous, moving emotional quality. Without the music, I think half of the magical effect of this movie would have been lost. I can think of another movie which is directed with great reliance on the musical score - Three Colours Blue. But that one was much more reserved compared to this - that one was more about controlled emotions that were allowed to flow subtly. That was a French movie. Contrast it with Malena, an Italian movie, full of Italian emotionality and passion. For me, the Italian movie Malena deserved half a star more than Three Colours Blue because of this :)

The story has great force and although doesn't seem very realistic (what sort of horrible Italian town is that? surely there must be 1 in a 1000 who would at least step up to Malena's aid, especially when she was trampled openly by womenfolk in the townsquare! I mean, its not as if this is like olden day Arab states where women convicted of adultery were publicly shamed to death and everybody would think its okay right?) Still, like I said, the music has a lot to do with it whenever you feel like you're gonna drop a tear or whenever your heart goes out to the poor woman (and her husband's) suffering. Imagine watching the whole movie without music. How boring would that be?

Okay, the scenery was shot in such a way that captured the beauty (or rather, the exoticism to those of you who never grew up there) of a rather typical southern Italian town. I can think of a few more movies that shot and emphasised more beautiful views of other Italian countryside scenes... so that wouldn't be something that would figure largely in the impact of this movie on you, the viewer (unless you've never in your life seen any other footage of beautiful Italian countrysides on film or in real-life).

The main actress is very gorgeous (and I think if anyone used her as an example of their idea of a "perfect girlfriend/wife", they'd probably never get very far in their search for their perfect girl!) but that's not surprising considering she also used to be a Dolce and Gabbana model and is already a huge star back home. (Fame always makes someone even more glowingly beautiful than before.) Its easy to see why people would treat her like the real star of the movie - the whole movie was crafted around her; for her; the movie was made to make her get all the focus and picture her in her most beautiful shots possible. She never had to say a word, never had to display much emotion. In fact the main part of her job in the movie is to walk. Yes, like doing the catwalk, wearing clothes which look gorgeous on her gorgeous figure, in immaculate makeup and hair, and just... walk... walk ... walk all the time whenever the camera's on her. If she's not walking, she's doing some pretty posing (of course, the posing would be made to be like part of the script to mean something else, like dancing with her husband's picture, etc.) Even the director said in the "Making of" that when he first met Monica, he immediately thought she'd be perfect for such a movie he wanted to make. Its like seeing the most beautiful girl for the first time and wanting to make the most gorgeous sculpture out of her in rock and stone. I'm sorry but I have to say, Monica was only his muse. And nothing else... I can hardly see the talent in her. All I saw were great shots of her doing what she's been trained to do best (in her modelling career) -- making poses (sometimes in the nude, which I think is put there strategically to pull in the male population to go to the cinemas to watch this), and catwalking. I'd have to see her in another movie with more talking and emoting in a wider range of style. And I will look out for it. My mind can be changed, you know :)