monica magdalen

Today we return to Sicily, the setting of Malèna, written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore.

Comparisons with Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso are inevitable, so let's dig right in. Both Malèna and Paradiso are stories of a young boy experiencing the first pangs of love during and shortly after World War II in a provincial Sicilian town. Both involve boobs and masturbation humor. Both are highly personal movies, or at least Tornatore is talented enough to make me think so.

Thematically, however, the two are opposites. Paradiso's reaction to war weariness, lost love, and provincialism is escape. Malèna shows the consequences of the other choice: to stick it out when the going is worst. In that way, Malèna is the more mature - more realistic - of the two movies.

Whereas Cinema Paradiso's emotional core lies in shared moviegoing experiences, Malèna's emotion lies on the gorgeous shoulders of Monica Bellucci. A model since 1988 (she was paying her way through law studies), she's been Hollywood's sexiest vampire since Francis Ford Coppola remade Dracula in 1992. More recently, she put the Passion in Christ as Magdalen (not coincidentally, Malèna's namesake). So I never questioned her electrifying effect on the town of Castelcuto, literally turning every head whereever she goes. Among Americans, only Angelina Jolie is that hot, and she's a full decade younger than Bellucci.

But just as Bellucci is Malèna's strength, she is also why it will never be the classic Cinema Paradiso is. Her sex appeal overpowers the simple story. It ends up being more about a horny young boy's reactions to her, than her own powerful drama. Without giving too much of the story away, let me just say that her story is the more interesting of the two.

Oh, well, it's still made with Tornatore's excellent craftsmanship and sense of place. And, since its theme complements so well that of Cinema Paradiso, I'll be looking forward to a Tornatore double-feature in the near future.