Review on Malena
... as coming-of-age films are concerned, I found it a middling entry in the field and curiously unengaging. A very touching movie about a boy's first love, and first loves never end. Renato is a boy in Sicily, Italy. Around the time of World War II he was 12 and a half years old, struggling to become a man and get recognitions from his peers. He fell in love with Malena, a very fascinating woman, at first sight. But alas, she was married. And all he could do was to follow her wherever she went; and fantasizing about her. News came that Malena's husband died in the war, and thus leaving her a widow. Now she had to face the world alone, and the world is not easy for a pretty widow. The men in town lusted after her, and the women was jealous of her beauty. At last she had to leave her town wounded and alone. But Renato gathered his courage and helped her; though anonymously. One very important symbol is Renato’s short pants, w...