Barnes & Noble

The thrills and agonies of an adolescent crush are thoroughly catalogued in Malèna, a charming and emotive period piece from director Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso). Set in a small Sicilian town during WWII, the story centers on Renato (Giuseppe Sulfaro), a 13-year-old boy with a hyperactive fantasy life who falls hard for the town's ultra-beautiful twentysomething newlywed, Malèna (Monica Bellucci). Tornatore leaves no stone unturned here in portraying a young man's sexual coming-of-age. There are girlie pictures and squeaky bedsprings galore, in scenes staged with just enough frankness to make the material seem fresh. He also creates his own version of Fellini's Amarcord, bringing the town to life as a circus of eccentrics -- folks who pray and gossip with equal fervor, while radio reports in the background track the war's progress. Meanwhile, Renato's imagination is explored through a series of fantasy sequences that reflect his obsession with movies. Sulfaro brings a perfect earnestness to his portrayal of Renato, while Bellucci's portrayal of Malèna is carefully understated, with few lines and a mere handful of carefully chosen emotional moments. She has supermodel looks, to be sure, but she is seen for the most part through Renato's eyes and functions as an empty vessel into which he pours his distilled adolescent adoration. Add an Oscar-nominated soundtrack by the legendary Ennio Morricone, and you have a film that is Italian on the surface but Hollywood at its core, a sweeping, irony-free story where love conquers all. Gregory Baird

All Movie Guide

A young man's infatuation for a beautiful older woman blooms amidst the outbreak of World War II in this bittersweet comedy-drama from Italy. Renato (Giuseppe Sulfaro) is a 13-year-old boy growing up in a small Sicilian community. Mussolini has risen to power and has declared war upon England and France, but Renato has other things on his mind -- mostly girls. While hanging out with his friends by the seashore, Renato spies Malèna (Monica Bellucci), the daughter of one of his schoolteachers, whose husband Nino (Gaetano Aronica) is fighting with Mussolini's army. Renato is immediately obsessed with Malèna and follows her like a lost puppy, spying on her whenever circumstances permit and imagining her as his co-star in elaborate erotic fantasies inspired by his favorite movies. Renato, however, is hardly the only man in town to be struck by Malèna's charms, and her beauty leads to resentment from the women of the community. Malèna's circumstances take a turn for the worst after her husband is reported to have died in combat, and she is forced to resort to prostitution to survive; she is brutally attacked by a pack of angry matrons and driven from town. Renato tries to keep track of her, and has some less than encouraging news to report when Nino turns out to be alive and finds his spouse is missing. Malèna was written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, best known for the art-house hit Nuovo Cinema Paradiso; Malèna was released in Europe at 106 minutes, while the American version was edited by ten minutes to tighten the pace and remove nudity and sexual material considered too strong for the U.S. marketplace. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 786936145090
• Source: MIRAMAX
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: Italiano, Français
• Subtitles: English, Español
• Time: 1:32:00
• Sales Rank: 13,923

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