'Malena' of Italy, betrayal of beauty

 

As we are at the height of summer travel, I recalled a trip that I took to Italy several years ago, where I was impressed by the time-honored ruins of ancient Rome as well as the glittering sunlight on the white waves of the blue sea. "Malena" is a 2001 film set against the backdrop of Italy, a country known for its stunning Mediterranean Sea, warm sunshine and rich, millennia-old cultural heritage. I happened to watch this movie on YouTube. I had never watched or heard of this movie before. After watching it, I felt gloomy. A lingering and bitter feeling remained in my mind. Trying to figure it out, I wrote this essay.

"Malena" is set in the period following World War II, depicting life in a quaint seaside village in Italy. It described the hot, dazzling sunshine and beautiful beaches with their white sands and blue waves. As they were the very sunshine and sea that I had seen in Italy, it was so nice to see them in the movie once more.

This movie was directed by Giuseppe Tornatore and its music was composed by the famous Ennio Morricone. As the director’s name sounded familiar to me, I looked up the name and found out that he was the director of the prominent movie "Cinema Paradiso" released in 1990. Tornatore was born in Sicily, Italy, in 1956. I think that his exemplary movie "Cinema Paradiso" was very beautiful, warm and made the audience feel sentimental and nostalgic.

Tornatore showed the humble daily lives of a rural village thoughtfully. He vividly captured a warm, nostalgic yearning for the things that were disappearing as time passed and society advanced. In "Malena," the main character, a woman, was played by the famous Monica Bellucci — also born in Italy. This movie was invited to the competitive section of the Berlin International Film Festival in 2001.

Although I watched "Cinema Paradiso" decades ago, I still remember vividly how much I was moved by it. In the movie, the cute, little boy Toto is the main character and he shares a warm friendship with the old man Alfredo, a film technician at a movie theatre. As Toto grew up, fell in love, and became an adult, the elderly Alfredo lost his eyesight in a fire, and playing movie films via a projector was gone. In the meantime, the mother of the grown-up Toto became an old, stooped widow as her husband was gone in the war.

The film "Malena" shares many similarities with "Cinema Paradiso." A little boy is the main protagonist and the process of his growing up is described. On top of this, a woman protagonist, Malena, lives by herself with her husband gone in the war too. In "Cinema Paradiso" too, Toto’s growing up process is shown and his mother has to live by herself without her husband due to war.

Whereas "Cinema Paradiso" shows a warm-heartedness and beautiful mind, "Malena" shows the uncanny cruelty and destructiveness of the human mind. Watching "Malena," the splendid acting, outstanding directing and, lastly, breathtakingly beautiful nature and calm, blue music lingered in my mind for a long time. I will try to break them down into five keywords. (to be continued)

Lee Nan-hee studied English in college and theology at Hanshin University.