Acclaimed filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore’s (Cinema Paradiso, The Legend of 1900) sensual coming-of-age story Malena celebrates the 20th anniversary of its Italian release in 2000.
Malena tells the unforgettable story of a boy's journey into manhood amid the chaos of World War II. In 1941, Renato (Giuseppe Sulfaro) is 13 years old and although the world is at war, nothing ever happens in his sleepy coastal town in Sicily. Malena (Italian fashion icon Monica Bellucci), is the most beautiful woman in town, and in the narrow-minded village she becomes the subject of malicious gossip among lustful husbands and jealous wives. But only Malena’s most ardent admirer, young Renato, will learn her mysterious untold story.
Featuring a sweeping score from the late, great Ennio Morricone, who has composed music for thirteen Tornatore feature films since 1988, Malena is a beautifully crafted period drama based on a story by Luciano Vincenzoni. A nostalgic evocation of Italy, Tornatore combines a coming-of-age story with the tale of a woman punished for her beauty in this sublime film classic.
Wednesday 25th November
109 min
M
Film Festival
