Movie Review: Malena

Within a small Sicilian village, a young boy’s coming of age is remembered through his obsession of a female villager, Malena. She is favored by many, beautiful in every way and is always a conversation piece when she walks into town. As men and young boys openly comment about Malena’s flawless looks and erotic fantasies of her, the female villagers instead react with jealous comments and distasteful judgments. Eager to explore Malena’s lonely and secret lifestyle, young Renato, uncovers how pure, lovely and genuine she is despite her rumored whore and prostitute-like image.

An aged Renato narrates the film and can thoroughly remember life changing encounters with Malena. Upon his initial meeting, Renato appears that of a young 12-year-old boy; his face is innocent and fresh, he wears pants that are too short and he ecstatically rides a new bike through town. Renato is at his prime, where ignorance blinds him of his becoming manhood. Surrounded by older, arrogant and perverted friends, Renato’s youthful mind is suddenly determined to be that of a grown man and he soon sets out to protect Malena from the villagers’ harassments.

Yet there is little spoken between the two of them, and as the effects of WWII occur outside the village, hateful projections, hostile family affairs, and countless uproars leave the village anything but silent. Malena’s beautiful silence impacts all villagers and leaves unfinished small wars; wives against husbands, villager against villager, father against son, and of course, Renato against society.

Renato’s growth process is clear in his actions, fantasies and expressions for Malena. Developmental growth allows for personal discoveries of which are apparent through his emotions of anger, curiosity, desire and sadness. Take Renato’s sexual experiences for instance. Shocked with the onset of an erection, obsessed with getting longer pants to signify a lengthy penis, using images and props to explore his nights of passion and oiling his squeaky bed to minimize the sounds of masturbation show Renato’s sexual growth and discoveries. His father also recognizes how Renato is becoming curious about sexual experiences and takes Renato to a brothel where his sexual desires can be fulfilled. This father-son moment is anything but usual in society, but allows for Renato’s transition from boy to man to occur with grace.

Renato’s youthful imagination also animatedly expresses that of a grown up mind. He is Malena’s rescuer, fighter, protector and lover, a man with emotions and feelings but one who is strong, dangerous and secure with his masculinity. “I will protect you…just give me time to grow up” are words spoken to Malena only in fantasy, but shows how even his choice of words express a desired transition of age.

We see how Renato escapes dreamland and enters reality when Malena’s pronounced dead husband returns back to the village for his wife. Despite her colorful prostitute image, traitor ways and loss of self-worth, Renato helps Malena’s husband reconnect with the wife he, and Renato, once knew. This gesture again shows a stepping-stone in Renato’s life toward manhood where he is presented as a mature, selfless individual who understands grownup issues, such as the importance of love.

Societal values and norms lastly pose challenges not only for young Renato but for Malena as well. Society’s hatred for her beauty and perfectness make employment impossible for Malena as she is denied work in the village. Society rejects her beauty, independence and confidence because these are characteristics viewed outside of the norm. Yet the villagers’ values become contradicting when accepting Malena only occurs after reuniting with her husband and has a negative appearance of stress, age and fear. Nevertheless, life moves on, villagers go about their daily livings and the signs of growth are left behind.