3.24.2013

Giuseppe Tornatore's Malena (2000)

My endless fascination with Italy has only been fuelled by a film I watched a while back. A coming of age story where the protagonist, a pubescent boy named Vito develops an unhealthy crush on the towns beautiful widow, Malena. Through his obsession, he discovers himself, his sexuality, and the cruelties of his own culture. The director, Giuseppe Tornatore is famed for Cinema Paradiso (1988), another coming-of-age tale set in rural 1940s Italy. However, I never felt that the tale was quite as heart felt as this one. Not to mention, Monica Belluci is absolutely revitting as the captivating and enigmatic Malena. And as far as  WWII movies go, this hits the top of my list. Beautiful women are always going to be tormented. Their worth and value as a woman living in a misogynistic patriarchal society which views women as sexual objects and encourages women to think of themselves as such. and therefore  this other women the green light to treat other women in such a way as well. this is no different in several countries, not least in the progressive ones. We are still very critical of women, not just attractive ones, but smart ones as well. When will the paradigm shift in our global mentalities towards women? Or will we allow these stereotypes to proliferate? 
Malena Trailer

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