The Beautiful Legend of Sicily is a drama film directed by Giuseppe Tornadore and starring Italy's national treasure sexy actress Monica Bellucci.
Thirteen-year-old Reinaldo is naïve and full of fantasies about life. One day met a woman who would change his life forever. The beautiful widow Marlena fascinated all men and made all women jealous. Because of her, the boy entered a new world of life.
One day in late spring 1941, Reinaldo Amoruso met Marlena for the first time. With wavy black hair, fashionable skirts and stockings, and high heels full of lust, she came to the quiet sunny town of Sicily. Her every move is eye-catching and evocative, and her smile makes men intoxicated and women envious. Marlena, like a goddess, conquered this paradise on the seashore. Like all the men in town, he couldn't help himself from his beauty. Every day after school, he ran to the side of the road, just to wait for the graceful Marlena to walk gently past him, and every evening, climbed up to the high roof, just to see Marlena in the living room for a lonely dance. He followed the prison and spied on her life. Her swaying shadows, the music she listened to, and her intimate clothes all became the most real and beautiful erotic fantasies of this hormone-infused teenager. He saw people insulting and slandering Marlena, but he could do nothing but do something small. He prayed to the gods and said, "All people will only say bad things about her, and I am the only one who knows the truth, she is loyal to you, you protect her for a few years, and then I will take over." He wants to grow up, he doesn't want to wear shorts anymore, he wants to wear long pants. The trousers meant that he had grown up a little more, and he wanted to have the ability to protect his beloved. As much as he longed for her, he wanted to protect her.
Beautiful, sexy but not dusty Marlena, her husband went to the front line to fight, Marlena who lived alone faced the covetousness of men, the jealousy of women, her eyes were always quiet, walking was always low eyebrows, ignoring everything around her, however, when the news of Marlena's husband's death in the front line spread, her seemingly peaceful life was finally broken, the elderly and lewd doctor intended to infect Marlena, Marlena had to take him to court for her own reputation, but no one believed her. Even the elderly father did not believe in her virginity and drew a line with her. "What's wrong with her? Her only sin is being too beautiful" is what the fat and bloated lawyer said in court to defend Marlena, a man who helped her win the case when no one wanted to believe her, but also did not hesitate to defile her after the lawsuit, he just wanted to possess her. Mimoto is innocent, and evil has always been human nature.
Marlena finally embarked on the path of selling her flesh in the greed of the townspeople and the jealousy of the women, but only in exchange for the necessities of life and food, and the ugliness of human nature was exposed here. When Marlena first appeared in front of everyone's eyes after becoming a prostitute, she cut her hair short, dyed a bright red, put on heavy makeup, smoked a cigarette, raised her hands and feet full of charm, and the only thing that remained unchanged was her calm and waveless eyes, when so many lighters appeared in front of her, her eyes were full of contempt, she had seen through the ugliness of human nature, the chastity that had been held for so long, but now it was only to survive.
When after the end of the war, When Marlena was pulled into the street by the women of the town and beaten and humiliated, but no one came forward to help her, the men were indifferent, they just wanted to conquer her to achieve the shameful sense of accomplishment in their hearts, and even drove her out of the town, Marlena's long-suppressed emotions finally broke out at this moment, and all the grievances, anger, sadness, and powerlessness of everything around her turned into painful tears. Forced to leave a place that had never been kind to her.
Marlena's husband returns home from losing an arm, and the first thing he does is look for his wife, whose home has been encroached upon. Reinaldo gave him clues and led him to find Marlena. He took her home and walked again to the square, which appeared many times, and it seemed to witness Marlena's beautiful and glorious moments, and symbolized the darkness of Marlena's fall into hell. He took her back to Sicily, where she could only regain her dignity if she returned to the old land.
Years are fleeting, and the beautiful young woman who was touching at that time has also been blessed and has become a middle-aged woman, dressed in a very simple style, carrying a basket to buy things in the market. Ironically, the women of the town greeted Marlena one after another, and they began to talk to her cordially, and even gave her things warmly, as if nothing had happened before. Marlena looked at them with her still beautiful eyes, and smiled disdainfully at them. Finally, Marlena's back disappeared on the way home, at the end of the screen, what did not change was the quiet eyes and elegant gait.
"Good luck, Ms. Marlena." Reinaldo finally said to Marlena, the only thing she had ever said in her life.
The film narrates from the perspective of the teenager Reinaldo, which on the surface is sketching the growth of a teenager, but in fact it is telling the sad story of a beautiful woman in a richer and not simpler way. The sadness is not only in that heart-wrenching scene of dragging, but also in the ups and downs of life caused by the rumors, suspicions, misunderstandings, jealousies, resentments and even naked physical aggression experienced by the character of Marlena. Beauty is innocent, innocence is innocent, but when these two most beautiful things in the world are placed on a woman, in a world where human nature has not yet evolved to the highest good, this is a catastrophe. What cannot be ignored is the background of the times, the war separated Marlena from her husband, let Marlena suffer from loneliness and rumors, and also let her husband suffer physical and mental devastation. This film not only shows the beauty of women and the ugliness of human nature, but also shows the restlessness of youth and the troubles of growth, and exposes the cruelty of war.
Beauty is a gift from God, the rarest and most precious gift. If we are lucky enough to have beauty, we should be grateful. If we don't, then we should thank others for bringing us pleasure. The beautiful legend of Sicily is not beautiful at all.