As Italy enters WWII, a teenage boy in a small, narrow-minded Sicilian town becomes obsessed with a young woman.As Italy enters WWII, a teenage boy in a small, narrow-minded Sicilian town becomes obsessed with a young woman.As Italy enters WWII, a teenage boy in a small, narrow-minded Sicilian town becomes obsessed with a young woman.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 7 wins & 21 nominations total
Gilberto Idonea
- Avvocato Centorbi
- (as Gilberto Idone)
Giuseppe Pattavina
- Pretore
- (as Pippo Pattavina)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMonica Bellucci had to learn Sicilian for the role, a dialect that is noticeably different from her native Italian.
- GoofsThe bike that Renato rides, suddenly has a modern derailleur-type chain tensioner at the rear at about 20-21 minutes into the film. At all other times, his bike has a fixed rear gear without the chain tensioner.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Renato Amoroso: I pedaled as fast as I could... as if I were escaping from longing, from innocence, from her. Time has passed, and I have loved many women. And as they've held me close... and asked if I will remember them I've said, "Yes, I will remember you." But the only one I've never forgotten is the one who never asked... Malena.
- Crazy creditsThe movie is dedicated to Tornatore's Father
- Alternate versionsOriginal Italian version (rated T, suitable for everyone of all ages) runs 108 minutes. Miramax cut 16 minutes of the film down to a running time of around 92 minutes, in order to obtain an R rating. Gone or shortened were many of Renato's dream sequences with Malena which involve a lot more nudity than in the cut version.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 58th Annual Golden Globe Awards 2001 (2001)
Featured review
A gorgeous, voluptuous woman is the object of attention in this World War II period piece, set in an Italian town. The star is a horny 13-year-old who fantasizes about a relationship with this grown woman, "Malena," a sexy lady who gets all the mens' attention in the town, and all the wrath of the jealous town women.
This is a strange film at times but beautifully filmed and almost always interesting. Monica Bellucci is indeed a feast for any male's eyes. She is almost beyond description, looks-wise. What happens to her, unfairly, near the end is not pleasant. Otherwise, it's a pretty humorous film in segments, especially with dialog between the young kid and his dad. Some of the lines there and at other places made me laugh right out loud. Some of the language is not really profane but it's certainly crude. The kid is not that likable nor are his friends.
There is a such a mixture of genres in here that is makes the movie fresh almost every time I see it, which has been three times so far.
This is a strange film at times but beautifully filmed and almost always interesting. Monica Bellucci is indeed a feast for any male's eyes. She is almost beyond description, looks-wise. What happens to her, unfairly, near the end is not pleasant. Otherwise, it's a pretty humorous film in segments, especially with dialog between the young kid and his dad. Some of the lines there and at other places made me laugh right out loud. Some of the language is not really profane but it's certainly crude. The kid is not that likable nor are his friends.
There is a such a mixture of genres in here that is makes the movie fresh almost every time I see it, which has been three times so far.
- ccthemovieman-1
- Nov 3, 2006
- Permalink
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,448,233
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $62,282
- Dec 25, 2000
- Gross worldwide
- $14,493,284
- Runtime1 hour 48 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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