Malena Scodia, who also happens to be a tailor, had her new husband conscripted to fight in Africa, and news of his death soon came. The fascist authorities held a grand memorial ceremony, but Malena was conspicuously absent, because grief is a personal emotion, and there is no need to magnify it in broad daylight. She was crying alone on the collapsed bed at her father's residence.
Also in Odyssey, Odysseus' son Telemachus is standing on the threshold of adolescence to adulthood, and with the help of the incarnated Athena, he is determined to find his father, and in the midst of trials and tribulations complete his bar mitzvah. If Odysseus's theme is return, Panelope's is waiting, then Telemachus's is growth.
Renato Amoroso, twelve and a half years old, got his first bicycle as the people of the small Sicilian town cheered for Mussolini's declaration of war, where there are several steps for adults. a step, such as a bicycle, such as wearing long pants, and so on. Like Telemachus, Renato and his companions were in the second half of their adolescence. They did not go to the square to join in the fun and praise the "leader", but waited by the seaside avenue, waiting for the appearance of the goddess. The goddess is Malena. She is tall, plump, and long with fluttering hair. Like Venus in Botticelli's works, she walked out of the canvas and into Renato's youthful fantasy and daydreams. He skipped school to follow her, climbed trees to peep at her residence, and took all kinds of childish revenge on her detractors. At night, he listened to the same romantic songs she listened to at home, imagining the nude women in the erotic palace paintings as Malena, while masturbating. In order not to alarm his father downstairs, he even oiled the springs under his creaking bed. In his daydreams, he is Tarzan, the cowboy flying from Guanshan, the paratrooper who has fallen from the sky, saving his Malena and receiving her love in return. That's how Renato Amoroso's adolescence passed.
Malena, without the wealth and palace of Panelope, has the same steadfastness and beauty, which is unusually beautiful among all living beings in the town, detached from the world. She held her head high and walked through the square and streets of the town with the eyes of a Greek statue goddess. For the men in the small town, they are like nothing in the sky, everyone's dream lover, the object of YY, their eyes are straight, the newspaper is turned upside down, their mouths can't close, the clack of high heels echoes in their minds, For a long time. For women, however, they are undoubtedly the public enemy of the whole nation, and they declare war on her with contempt, hatred, hostility, and jealousy. As a result, rumors spread, and the three became tigers.
Malena stubbornly lived in loneliness of waiting, longing and perseverance until the bad news of her husband came. Renato became her secret guardian, and he even made an "agreement" with the saint idol to protect Malena until he became an adult.
Malena's beauty and arrogance brought general hostility in the town, women refused to sell her food, men were afraid to hire her out of fear, and the authorities cut off her allowance because of rumors. Her livelihood went from bad to worse, like the war in the Kingdom of Italy.
The bigwigs in the town coveted her beauty, so there was a hustle and bustle in front of her door, and people even fought over her. She was brought to court by the jealous woman, but as the defense attorney said her only sin was that she was too beautiful. Beautiful things are always hated, always devoured by greedy eyes. In order to survive, Malena also had to deal with people, but she stuck to the bottom line. However, although Malena can deal with the "suiters who came to Ithaca" with firmness and refusal, she cannot solve the problem of bread and salt. The bombing took away her only relative, her father. In the end, she can only fall, in order to survive.
Renato was heartbroken and ill, and neither priest nor witch could bring back his soul, only his father understood the crux of his youthful symptoms, and took him to a brothel, in the fire of the roaring bomb of the plane, Lubida, who looks exactly like Malena, helped him complete the step from boy to man, and this time it was not a pipe dream.
Sicily was liberated, and the people who cheered for the "leader" warmly welcomed the arrival of the US military. The reckoning has begun, but the main characters remain the same. The women's vengeance was burning on Malena. She was dragged out, beaten and had her hair cut, as was common in Europe at the time. (In Europe, hair is sacred, and an insult to hair is an insult to oneself. During the height of the medieval persecution of witches, witches were cut off before they were executed, because it was widely believed that they used their hair to trade with Satan.) , mana is also hidden in the hair.) People liquidate their compatriots in this way, in order to vent their anger, but also to show that they stand in a high moral position. (Probably what Hannah Arendt called "the banality of evil", "Wicked men act out of jealousy; this may be out of resentment against themselves (like Richard III) for no fault and no good results) , or out of Cain jealousy, Cain killed Abel because 'God was only interested in Abel and his sacrifice, not Cain and his sacrifice.' Or evil might have been abetted by its own flaws ( Such as Macbeth). Or, on the contrary, a strong hatred of evil due to sheer goodwill." - Arendt, "Life of the Mind") Unlike elsewhere, here are all women who do it and men who watch, who have no courage to come out and stop the madness The atrocities of the wives and mothers against this poor woman. She was double-whammed and spat on. This is reminiscent of the Polish poet Ta Ruzewicz's poem "The Braid":
"In exile all women's
braids are cut off
...
these hair is no longer shiny ,
no longer lifted by the breeze
, no longer by anyone's hair. Hands
or rain, lips touch"
Only Renato was heartbroken, but he could do nothing, he watched the desperate and insulted Marina leave by train, and the whistle also announced the completion of his adolescence. He grew up and later had his own girlfriend. The unexpected return of Malena's husband, Nino, reopens his unforgettable memories. With his help and encouragement, Nino found Malena and returned to the town with his head held high and dignity in the eyes of the people.
The women in the town were the most sensitive. They found that Malena also had wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and she was getting fat. They stretched out their hands and re-accepted her who had descended to the mortal world. Reconciliation and forgiveness finally drive out hatred and jealousy, and Malena calmly accepts the kindness of those who hurt her. At that moment, I felt that there is hope for humanity. As Archbishop Tutu of South Africa said: Without reconciliation and forgiveness, there is no future.
This is a growth record, about mind and body. Freudians can use it as a classic case of sexual urge; left-wing theorists will criticize fascism for its destruction of human nature; feminists will use it as a letter of struggle. Different people will have different interpretations.
Lukacs once said that the movie is the epic of the godless world. To me, this film with the sultry heat of adolescence, the bright Mediterranean sun and the slightly sentimental is not just epic, but allegory. About youth, about growth, about sexuality, about responsibility, about beauty, about vulnerability, about persistence, about jealousy, and, about belief. Fables come from life, but transcend specific history, so they have the value of eternal observation. Youth encounters beauty, and the images describe the ancient fables about growth.
"When I grew up, I met a lot of girls, and they always asked me if I would take care of them. I said yes, but it was only when I was with them. One person never even asked my name. But I will always remember - Marina."
Renato said at the end of the film.
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