In 1989, Giuseppe Tornatore made one of the most affecting films of the 80s with the nostalgic but hauntingly beautiful Cinema Paradiso; he's repeated the trick here with the equally fine Malena. A fable of sexual awakenings set in wartime Sicily, Giuseppe Sulfaro plays Renato Amoroso, a young man who - like every other male of his acquaintance - is entranced by the eponymous town beauty. While the storyline doesn't really extend past that central tenet with little room for subplots, Malena is still a superb film. Brimming with deftly controlled performances, Tornatore's own wonderful script is translated onto the big screen with all the artistry of a master. Marvellous stuff.
