I was 13. It was a day at the end of Spring 1941 when I saw her for the first time . . . I remember it very well because that afternoon, while Mussolini was declaring war on France and Britain, I got my first bike. -- Renato Amoroso

Concept: An unforgettably bittersweet tale of Malena, the beautiful young widow who inspires a boys independence, courage and dogged pursuit of the impossible amidst the chaos and intolerance of war.

It is a moving fable about the powers of the imagination and the perils of growing up. Another achingly poignant remembrance of childhood's most magical and transforming moments, this time Tornatore takes on adolescence   -  and the brushes with beauty, sexuality, revenge, the madness of war and the hunger for romance that open a child's eyes to an understanding of love and responsibility.

Synopsis: Malena is the most ravishing and irresistible beauty in Castelcuto, a sleepy village on the sunny Sicilian shore. She ís new in town and with her husband away at war, every stroll she takes through town turns into a spectacle, accompanied by the lustful looks of the townsmen and the resentful gossip of their envious wives.

An army of skinny teens on bicycles follows her everywhere just to stare at her exquisite, archetypal beauty. But among those boys is Renato Amoroso, an imaginative 13-year old who takes his desire to unexpected heights of obsessive fantasy. Fueled by his dreams of cinematic romance,

Renato Amoroso becomes Malena's secret shadow, a spy of love following closely her every sensuous move. The smallest moments in her life are perceived with a boy's highly charged eroticism. Even as his parents comically attempt to thwart his sinful, unhealthy behaviour boarding up his windows, taking him to a priest, then an exorcist, then a prostitute, Renato maintains his vigilant, voyeuristic watch over Malena. He watches even as her fortunes take a dark turn and becomes the dangerous object of the town's pent-up lust, jealousy and anger - the very eye of an emotional, erotic storm that sweeps across Castelcuto.

Behind the Scenes: The film is written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore from a short story by Luciano Vincenzoni.

The art of subtitles
Although written and performed in Tornatore's native Italian, an additional effort was made to bring the full essence of the film to American audiences by providing a special translation for the subtitles, with help from two artists well-versed in artistic interpretation and American movie sensibilities: writer/director Anthony Minghella (The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley) and writer Joseph Tropiano (Big Night).

Following a grand tradition (Anthony Burgess's translation for Cyrano De Bergerac and Paul Mazursky for Fellini) of bringing foreign language film to wider audiences, their work has added an extra layer of poetry to an already beautiful film. "It was a true privilege to work with a director as distinguished as Anthony Minghella, and a writer such as Joe Tropiano on this vital task for the film," says Tornatore. "Nowadays, subtitles are looked at with nothing but a technical eye, and I am pleased to have had the opportunity to work with such great artists in bringing all the humor and subtleties of Malena to audiences around the world."