Review: Malena

This is a fantastic, sensual, funny and heart-wrenching movie starring the divine Monica Bellucci in the eponymous role. Set in WWII Sicily, Monica portrays a woman named Malena Scordia, the new face in a small town. After having moved their with her husband Nino and her schoolteacher father, Nino gets drafted into the Italian army leaving Malena to fend for herself. Anyone who has seen Monica Bellucci knows she is incredibly beautiful and this is a main focus in the movie. It is narrated by a young man of about 14 years named Renato who made Malena the star of his fantasies.

Malena cannot find work because no one wants to give it to her. While she is the object of many admiring glances from the men and young men in the town, most of the women hate her for it. Both the men and women think she is much 'sluttier' than she lets on; basically calling her a Whore in Madonna clothing. However the woman who really is the town whore, Gina, is respected. In the words of one woman, "at least she [Gina] is honest about it". In the meantime, Malena is told that her husband has been killed in action in East Africa.

A rumor is started that Malena is a whore and is the direct cause of her father losing his teaching position at the school. After this he completely shuns Malena. On the heels of this blow is the bombing of the town by Allied forces and Malena's father is killed. Now completely destitute, Malena turns to prostitution so she can support herself. The night before she marched into town to silently declare herself a whore, she cut her hair in a curly bob and dyed red. She teams up with Gina and becomes very successful. The two women even accept the Nazi Germans when they come to town.

When the Allies win the war and begin liberating European towns from Nazi rule, Malena receives the brunt of the villagers' anger. The women march into her house and drag her out by her hair, kicking her until she begins to cough up blood and ends the brutal beating by cutting her now-dyed blonde hair. Of course this is a prime example of female-on-female violence spurred by sexual jealousy. But before this is just chalked up to only being about 'jealous females', the very men who lusted after Malena only stood by and watched the one-sided melee. By then they had also become disgusted with her only because she served Germans instead of them. When she appeals to them for help and sympathy, bleeding from the mouth with torn clothes and shorn hair, all the men do is stare at her stonefaced.

Malena is driven from town and goes to Messina. In the meantime, it turns out that her husband Nino is actually alive and he returns to town looking for his wife. He is told, mostly by men, that she is a 'whore' and a 'slut' and to 'check the brothels in Messina'. Renato anonymously writes a note to Nino refuting the claims of the townspeople, saying that Malena only did what she absolutely had to in order to survive and that the townspeople didn't do anything to help her otherwise and that she was loyal to him [Nino] the entire time. A curious note about this part, Nino goes to what I suppose is the town hall that is now run by American forces. When he gives Malena's name to the officers they comment, "I think that was the woman who was being beaten in the square the day we came into town". So they saw that occur and didn't feel the need to intercede? Some liberators!

A year later, Nino and Malena return to town. Her clothes are much dowdier than before but they both walk in with their heads held high. The townspeople give her respect now by referring to her as Signora Scordia or Signora Malena. While I have heard some people surmise that the newfound respect for Malena may have to do with her courage in coming back. But I personally think it has to do with the fact that Malena has 'toned down' her allure, which is sad. She pretty much looks like the other women in the town now. In the market square, some of the very women who assaulted her tripped over themselves trying to sell her their artisan goods. Through it all, as she always did, Malena is classy and polite despite what they did to her and said about her. After shopping, she is walking home and oranges fall out. Renato is there and helps her put the oranges back in the bag. She thanks him and walks away. Fin de cine.

Though Malena was forced into prostitution by poverty, it was not made obvious whether she was repentant nor was she portrayed as being stupid. When she receives her 'comeuppance' you are appropriately disgusted by those who feel as though they had the right to dispense that 'moral justice' to her. My stomach was rolling and I was so angry I wanted to jump through the screen and defend Malena myself. But that is what the scene was supposed to invoke. Though the people around Malena dehumanized her, the movie itself never gave the message that she was ever less than human just because she was a prostitute. The only other movie about prostitutes that does as good of a job is Dangerous Beauty. In that film as well, the courtesans are at the receiving end of 'moral justice' and are beaten in town square and the viewer can't help but to feel repulsed by what is done to them not by what they are.

It's a great film and is a fantastic illustration of slut-shaming at its worst.