A story of the painful passage into adulthood from director Giuseppe Tornatore (' Cinema Paradiso'). The year is 1940, & in the sleepy Sicilian town of Castelucto teenager Renato (Giuseppe Sulfaro) has developed a crush on the the beautiful & mysterious Malena (Monica Bellucci). Malena's husband Nino, who has been away fighting in the war, has now been reported dead, & the women of the town have taken to spreading malicious gossip about this woman who never fails to turn their husbands' heads. But as the gossip spreads, & the town fills with half-truths & false rumours, there is only one person who knows the truth, & that is young Renato.