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Malena

Play trailer Poster for Malena R 2000 1h 46m History Drama Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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54% Tomatometer 78 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
In 1941, Renato was 13 years old and although the world was at war, nothing ever happened in this sleepy village in Sicily. Until the day he discovered something that would change his life forever... Malna, the beautiful young war widow who was the obsession of every man and the envy of every woman. Because of her, Renato will come to learn all of life's lessons and find himself in places he never could have imagined.
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Malena

Malena

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Critics Consensus

Malena ends up objectifying the character of the movie's title. Also, the young boy's emotional investment with Malena is never convincing, as she doesn't feel like a three-dimensional person.

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Critics Reviews

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Stanley Kauffmann The New Republic 01/08/2018
A film about Malena herself, her travails, the deep-reaching conclusion, would have been much more interesting and original, but Tornatore is mired in cliches. Go to Full Review
Richard Schickel TIME Magazine 02/07/2001
2/5
Bereft of the more richly textured sentiments of Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso. Go to Full Review
Mick LaSalle San Francisco Chronicle 02/07/2001
4/4
[Tornatore] eludes sentimentality with a romantic vision wide enough to embrace the range of human experience. Go to Full Review
Yasser Medina Cinefilia 01/22/2024
5/10
It enjoys a certain Mediterranean beauty on the visual side, but not even the dazzling presence of Monica Bellucci prevents the coming-of-age fable from collapsing down common and boring paths. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Mark Steyn The Spectator 01/25/2018
Malena poses as a bounteously endowed, ripe, curvy Italian mamma, but metaphorically it's an undernourished cadaverous Kate Moss of a movie. Go to Full Review
Michael Dequina TheMovieReport.com 02/15/2010
3/4
Malna barely speaks a word in the film, but Belucci makes a role that is written as a symbol into a full-blooded person. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Fernando D @Maqroll Nov 11 Simplemente bellisima See more thiago s @Thiagostone Jul 5 Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom, poderia colocar o nome do filme de Renato amoroso, pois o garoto é o protagonista do filme See more Everardo C Mar 15 Aunque con fallas en su desarrollo, la película creo una historia tan llena de ternura que es imposible no amarla See more Sofie H Feb 9 The movie is beautiful. Anyone who does not understand this is simply lacking perspective (it is hard to know how awful it feels to be objectified and envied as a woman if you have not experienced it). As someone who has experienced similar reactions from people, it was a very touching and horrifying film. Bellucci did not need words to express the complex emotions portrayed within the film. Although it is nice that some of the men commented wishing for more depth to her character, there was character, they simply did not see it or were not able to empathize with it. In asking for more "depth" or backstory to her character, critics missed the entire point of the film. It was depicted from an outside perspective to emphasize the solitary nature of Malena's life and the lack of control that she had over it. In filming from this perspective one is given the option to see how cruel the world can be through a clear sequence of events. That is my opinion as a woman who probably has a closer experience to Malena than any of these men criticizing the film. However, who knows how the director intended it to be interpreted. See more Priyan B 09/19/2024 An hard hitting love story. 7.9/10 See more June U 07/18/2024 I think it portrayed very well how the emotions of communities work, especially in small communities. People tend to put something that they don’t understand into the typical stereotyping and feel that they understand. It was scary to see how far people can go to prove that they are right. See more Read all reviews
Malena

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Movie Info

Synopsis In 1941, Renato was 13 years old and although the world was at war, nothing ever happened in this sleepy village in Sicily. Until the day he discovered something that would change his life forever... Malna, the beautiful young war widow who was the obsession of every man and the envy of every woman. Because of her, Renato will come to learn all of life's lessons and find himself in places he never could have imagined.
Director
Giuseppe Tornatore
Producer
Carlo Bernasconi, Harvey Weinstein
Screenwriter
Giuseppe Tornatore
Distributor
Miramax Films
Production Co
Tele+, Miramax Films, Medusa Produzione, Pacific Pictures
Rating
R (Nudity|Language|Sexuality|Some Violence)
Genre
History, Drama, Romance
Original Language
Italian
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 25, 2000, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 15, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$3.4M
Runtime
1h 46m
Sound Mix
Surround
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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