Malena (2000) is an
Italian romantic comedy drama film written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
from a story by Luciano Vincenzoni. The film is starred by Monica Bellucci and
Giuseppe Salfaro in the lead roles. The film is a strong example of the
feminist Laura Mulvey and the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud’s concept ‘Male Gaze’
and ‘Voyeurism’. Besides, there are other important subjects for example;
domination of patriarchal capitalist society, changing of occupation of the
German and the American, Nostalgic evocation etc.
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| Gaetano Aronica and Monica Bellucci in Malena (2000) Movie |
Main theme of the plot:
During the Second World
War in 1940, 12 years old Renato experiences three main things; Second World
War, getting a bicycle and first time notices a young beautiful woman called Malena
in a little town of Sicily. Still then, no war was in that town. Malena’s
husband was in force in Africa and fought the British. So, Malena is alone in
the house. But she becomes the cause of lust of all the men and the women envy
her as she is very beautiful, especially her eyes are very erotic. She looks a
bit her father, a professor. She gets news that her husband is killed in the
war. The citizens become more amorous. Her father gets an anonymous letter
about his daughter’s eroticism. A soldier comes into her house at night for
giving necessary needs. But she did not know that this event would take a
serious position. A wrestle is happened
between the dentist and the soldier. But the lawyer upholds the case of her in
the court and takes her side in the court. She admits that there was no erotic
or other relation with them. But the lawyer wins the case, so he rapes her.
Renato watches all deeds at her house and becomes sadomasochist. But he
identifies that he is different from the other he wants to become the protector
of her. But all only want physical relation. She becomes isolated from her
father. In the bombing, her father is died. She becomes more penniless. She becomes
scorned to all. Renato notices two German soldiers taking her and other woman
to hotels. He faints there. His mother thinks demon is into his body. So, he is
taken for exorcism. But his father takes him to the brothels. He does physical ecstatic
relation with Malena as the initiative. But when the Americans occupy the town,
the women of the town pull in out of the hotel and rip off her clothes and
begin persecution on her, cut off her hairs.
She moves in Messina by train. Once
Nino Scordia, Maena’s husband comes back home. But the occupier in his house
and others do not tell anything about Malena. Renato sends him an anonymous
letter that she loves him still now, she is not a prostitute. The villagers
have made her that. She moves Messina. After one year, Nino Scordia and Malena
together stroll in the town. The women and the men notice that she is more
matronly and plain than before. She looks enigmatic more. The women oppressed
on her, respect her now and say good morning madam in the market while shopping.
Malena replies them. At the road, some potatoes fall in the road, Renato helps
her lifting them. He says ‘good luck, Malena Scordia’. This is the first time;
Malena looked at someone and gives him an enigmatic half-smile.
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| Monica Bellucci in Malena (2000) Movie |
Renato says’ "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..."
"Malèna"
Male Gaze:
Laura Mulvey’s (1975)
essay ‘Visual pleasure and narrative cinema’ is the classical statement on
popular film from the perspective of feminist psychoanalysis. A political
weapon in a cinema is patriarchal society’s political psychoanalysis. Laura
Mulvey calls the thing is ‘Male gaze’. Male gaze is the female is the object of
male desire and she is the signifier of the threat of castration. She describes
another term ‘schopophilia’ that means the pleasure of looking. Scopophilia is
sexual; using another person as an object of sexual stimulation through sight. But
in world structured by ‘sexual imbalance’ the pleasure of the gaze has been
separated into two distinct positions: men look and women exhibit (to-be-looked-at-ness),
both are playing to male desire and signifying. In the film Malena is the
object of visual pleasure to the male and female. She exhibits her in the
camera, to the active performer and the audiences. ‘When the heroine removes
her clothes, it is for the sexual gaze of both the hero in the narrative and
the spectator in the auditorium.’ In the film the patriarchal society takes
Malena’s body as the sexual object and gets visual pleasure. But it is sexual
pleasure. The women envy her beauty and voice. As they say her voice is god’s
voice and her beauty is god gifted. Her eyes are erotic which can give pleasure
any male person. But in the film the women have also watched Malena on the male
gaze. Cause the director has wanted to show her body on the perspective of
patriarchal society. And the active women also cannot come out from it (male
gaze). So, they also watch her similarly with male person.
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| Giuseppe Sulfaro and his girlfriend and others in Malena (2000) Movie |
Voyeurism:
It is concept of
Sigmund Freud. It is also linked with scopophilic instinct. Scopophilia means
the pleasure of looking. Female exhibit and men look. But scopophilia is
sexual. Cause, man gets erotic pleasure looking the women’s body. As she is the
sexual object in the film, we connect it with Renato. As she looks malena’s
sexual activity, gets sexual pleasure. Voyeurism means deriving pleasure by
watching others having sex. It can be spectator but in the movie Renato is
active performer who derives sexual pleasure of Malena and lawyer or soldier.
Politics:
In the film there has
been power practice by the patriarchal capitalist society. It was the time of
Second World War. So, there, we notice the change of occupation. At first the
Germans occupy the town Sicily but in the last of the movie Americans occupy
the town. At the time of German occupation, the men take sexual pleasure,
someone rapes, and force and stop providing food, and do physical relation in
the hotel and the women envy her beauty, her voice her everything. But at time
of American occupation the women oppress and do persecution on her. So, she cannot
tolerate and moves away in Messina. The patriarchal society forces her to be prostitute.
They stop her food. Penniless Malena’s last resort was hotel for livelihood. But
the women started oppression and persecution on him to leave the town.
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| Malena (2000) Italian Movie Poster |
Nostalgic Evocation:
It is the fundamental
point of the film. Strolling of Malena and her husband to the town surprises
the men and the women who oppressed on her. Love to one’s land or town is
eternal. She tolerates a lot of oppression from the residents of the town. But
she has never lost her courage. Malena is a very simple story. It has something
drama comedy and erotic scenes. But its erotic activities and nostalgic evocation
made the film an international recognition and commercial advantages.
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| Monica Bellucci looks at Giuseppe Sulfaro in Malena (2000) Movie |
In a short, a woman is
punished for her beauty. She is oppressed by the other women from the envy of
her beauty. It is a very simple story about romance, comedy and tragedy. Its best
score and best cinematography are the most valuable contribution. In a word, it
a great work of Giuseppe Tornatore.
