Malena sees Italian writer/director Giuseppe Tornatore return to the sentimental roots of his highly acclaimed movie, Cinema Paradiso. As with Tornatore’s last film, the disappointing The Legend of 1900, Malena seems highly episodic and uneven. Whether this is to do with its international distributor or not (Tornatore has had troubles with the distributors of Legend and Paradiso in the past, infamously chopping his films by up to forty minutes), this is the version that we are left with.
Malena is set in a small Sicilian town during a memorable summer in 1940, when a 13-year-old boy named Renato (Guiseppe Sulfaro) becomes transfixed with a woman named Malena (Monica Bellucci). Malena has arrived in Castelcuta to care for her father while her husband is away at war, and she immediately becomes the subject of gossip, attraction, envy and curiosity amongst the townspeople. Renato and Malena have a highly unusual relationship for two people who don’t speak, but as Renato narrates and recounts his story we learn the effect that Malena has on his life.
There are definite shades of Paradiso in this coming-of-age film, which tries to mix poignant drama, crude humour, tragedy, nostalgia, movie-parody imaginings, comedy and romance. The final half hour, which darkens considerably before picking up for a touching finale, seems out-of-place, and only shades of the film’s strong emotion and sadness ring true.
Bellucci is a stunning figure but barely has a thing to work with. The numerous scenes of Malena walking through the town and the drooling men and disgusted women, become quite monotonous. The most memorable aspects of the film are Tornatore regular/veteran Ennio Morricone’s sweeping music and Lajos Koltai’s beautiful photography (both of which earned Oscar nominations). They give Malena a sublime, memorably dream-like feeling that the film doesn’t really deserve.
Filmink 2/5
