Synopsis
During WWII, a teenage boy discovering himself becomes love-stricken by Malèna, a sensual woman living in a small, narrow-minded Italian town.
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Cast
- Monica BellucciMalèna Scordia
- Giuseppe SulfaroRenato Amoroso
- Luciano FedericoRenato's Father
- Matilde PianaRenato's Mother
- Pietro NotarianniProf. Bonsignore
- Gaetano AronicaNino Scordia
- Gilberto IdoneaCentorbi, the Lawyer
- Angelo PellegrinoPolitical Secretary
- Gabriella Di LuzioBaron's Lover
- Pippo ProvvidentiDr. Cusimano
Recommendations
- 100
San Francisco Chronicle
Qualifies as director Giuseppe Tornatore's second full-fledged masterpiece. His first: "Cinema Paradiso." - 90
Los Angeles Times
Malena the film is as beautiful and seductive as its heroine, with its ravishing Lajos Koltai cinematography and sweepingly romantic Ennio Morricone score. - 75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Gives audiences something more than just a heart-stopping beauty to contemplate. - 70
The New York Times
What begins as a blushing, priapic opera buffa about coming of age turns into a verismo shocker, before softening into something mellower. - 70
Village Voice
A nostalgic coming-of-age sex comedy tastefully lecherous enough to indicate that its intended demographic is several decades past puberty. - 67
Portland Oregonian
Intriguing, containing a truthful kernel of sweetness, rot and brutality that will shock many. - 63
Christian Science Monitor
Striking photography, period detail, screen-filling crowd scenes, and veteran composer Morricone's score make this one worth seeing, but the sheer nastiness of the town's people drags it down. - 50
USA Today
There's definitely some paradiso in watching Malena walking, but not enough to sustain almost two hours of cinema.
