Too young to be a widow, too beautiful to be alone.
Overview
12-year-old Renato experiences three significant events on the same day: the beginning of the Second World War, getting a bike, and witnessing the arrival of the gorgeous Malèna. Through his eyes, we see the curse of beauty and loneliness of Malena, whose husband is presumed dead, and, through his soul, we see his love for her.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.6/10
IMDb: 7.4/10
Letterboxd: 3.59/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 54%
Metacritic: 54
TMDB: 7.4/10
Director
Giuseppe Tornatore
Production
Medusa Film, Miramax, Pacific Pictures, Tele+
Cast
Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Luciano Federico, Matilde Piana, Pietro Notarianni, Gaetano Aronica, Gilberto Idonea, Angelo Pellegrino, Gabriella Di Luzio, Pippo Provvidenti, Maria Terranova, Marcello Catalano, Elisa Morucci, Domenico Gennaro, Vitalba Andrea, Pippo Pattavina, Franco Catalano, Daniele Arena, Giovanni Litrico, Gianluca Guarrera
Curator Review
Verdict
A lush, mournful wartime melodrama with striking imagery and a strong sense of place, but it’s also deeply compromised by its fixation on a teenage boy’s desire and a heroine who’s more symbol than fully realized person. If you respond to ornate visual storytelling and can tolerate the film’s uncomfortable gaze, there’s a lot to admire; if you want a cleaner, more self-aware critique of misogyny, this is likely frustrating.
Best for
viewers drawn to glossy European period dramas
fans of bittersweet coming-of-age stories
people who prioritize cinematography and atmosphere
audiences interested in films about gossip, desire, and social cruelty
Skip if
you’re sensitive to sexualized framing of a minor
you want a fully developed female lead
you dislike films that feel morally conflicted or exploitative
you prefer restrained, modern realism over melodrama
Overview
Malena is one of those films that announces its intentions through atmosphere before it ever settles into character. Tornatore stages wartime Sicily as a place where beauty becomes a public offense, and the film’s visual polish is undeniable: sun-bleached streets, heavy shadows, and a mournful romanticism that lingers long after scenes end. It’s a movie built out of memory, fantasy, and shame, and it knows how to make those feelings feel enormous.
Worth noting
At the same time, the film’s central problem is also its central subject: it is so committed to showing how a town objectifies Malèna that it often reproduces the same objectification. The result is a work that can feel incisive one moment and embarrassing the next, especially in how it filters everything through Renato’s adolescent obsession. That perspective gives the film emotional shape, but it also keeps Malèna herself frustratingly out of reach.
Bottom line
For some viewers, that imbalance will read as the point: a critique of male desire that is itself contaminated by it. For others, it will simply feel like a beautiful film with ugly instincts. Either way, it’s memorable, emotionally charged, and impossible to dismiss.
Top Letterboxd reviews
scanasdully (4★) · 4935 likes
we need a malena 2 where she gets revenge and beats the shit out of everybody
Niamh (3.5★) · 2915 likes
That scene where they overwhelm her by trying to light her cigarette made me hate men, and the scene where they harm her and cut her hair made me hate women, basically i hate everyone apart from Monica Bellucci.
Omar! (4★) · 1871 likes
The most unrealistic part of the film is that in this Italian town there is only one beautiful person. And everyone else is so ugly that they have nothing to do other than stalk her and gossip about her.
alisa🍷 (3★) · 1852 likes
this film made me hate both men and women... I only love Monica Belucci.
Brendan (2★) · 1569 likes
"SHE WAS TOO YOUNG TO BE A WIDOW, AND TOO BEAUTIFUL TO BE ALONE. EVERY MAN WANTED TO HAVE HER. ONE BOY RISKED EVERYTHING TO PROTECT HER"
That's the synopsis / tagline of the film Malena and it's all true that is until the last line. "One boy risked everything to protect her" that is total bullshit, he basically just watches as terrible things happen to poor Malena. Oh and he masturbates constantly about it too. That's basically the film... so enjoy!
1970 · Drama, History · 1h 35m · R · Curator 6.3/10 (17.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A graceful, tragic period film about youth, privilege, and the shadow of war.