Title: "The Legend of the Beauty of Sicily" – Beauty is a sin
Copywriting: On the seashore in Sicily, the tragic experience of a beautiful woman, Marlena, is shocking.
Her beauty became her sin, attracting the envy and hatred of the women of the town. They beat her, shredded her clothes, shaved off her hair, and even trampled her en masse.
And the men watched indifferently, as if all this had nothing to do with them. Marlena was covered in blood and unclothed, and her eyes were full of humiliation, resentment, and despair. She let out a cry of grief, an unspeakable pain and pleading.
This is "The Beautiful Legend of Sicily", a film directed by Giuseppe Tornatore and starring Monica Bellucci, Guiceppe Sulfaro and others.
It is included in the list of must-see movies in life by many movie fans because it reveals the ugliness of human nature - the possessive and destructive desire for beauty. The story follows the tragic life of a beautiful woman who is beautiful, but also sinful, because beauty is often seen as a threat and needs to be destroyed.
Beauty is a sin because it threatens people's definition of "normal". It makes people feel anxious and jealous of their own inadequacy, so they do not hesitate to use all means to destroy it.
This desire to possess and destroy beauty is one of the human nature that we cannot ignore.
Reinado is a twelve-and-a-half-year-old boy who has a desire to grow up and desperately wants to join a group of boys slightly older than him. They roam the streets of the town on their bicycles every day at their leisure.
Reinado didn't understand why they did it, but he still wanted to fit in. So, he followed the group to a house by the sea. Suddenly, a beautiful woman appeared, and they held their breath and sat on the steps quietly watching her walk by.
Dressed in a white dress, carrying a small bag and white high heels, she strolled along the road by the sea. She has dark curly hair, like the gorgony Medusa in ancient Greek mythology, "anyone who looks into her eyes is attracted to her beauty and magic and then loses her soul and becomes a stone statue." ”
Marlena, a generation of beauties in the town, always maintains a posture with low eyebrows and slightly tilted heads, like a fairy who does not eat fireworks in the world. But even so, wherever she passed, all the men would be attracted by her beautiful face and plump figure, as if frozen, and could only look at her silently.
Reinado, attracted by her charms, began to skip school, waiting at her door every day, following her; At night, climb the big tree in the yard of Marlena's house, ** her life.
He saw her sitting in the courtyard drying her hair, the sun shining on her hair, and she read her husband's letters repeatedly, her eyes full of longing and cherishment; He saw her dancing alone in the room with her wedding photo in her arms, with tears on her face, which was a deep longing and nostalgia for her husband.
Marlena, the focal point of the town's charm].
Marlena and her husband Nino came to the town from the countryside, but a month after they got married, Nino set foot on the battlefield. In 1940, Mussolini declared war on Britain and France, leaving Marlena alone in town.
Her beauty has led to speculation that men think she needs a lover, while women think she is a morally corrupt vixen. Reinaldo resents these rumors, spat on people who insult Marlena, throw urine at the ladies who slander her, and even stone the shops of those who speak ill of Marlena behind her back.
Despite Reinado's young age and inability to resist more, he uses childish behavior to express his displeasure with the townsfolk who slandered Marlena.
Marlena's secret romance? 】
Reinado began to stalk Marlena again, and his instincts told him that the woman's secret was hidden somewhere. He came to a house, Marlena knocked lightly on the door, a corner of the second-floor window opened, and someone threw down a key.
Marlena quickly picked up the key, opened the door and entered. At this moment, Reinado felt extremely lost, and he began to suspect that Marlena had a secret relationship. His heart was filled with anger and felt that Marlena had betrayed him, even though they had never known each other.
A few days later, curiosity drove Reinado to climb across the street from the house, and he wanted to find out.
He fixed his eyes on a man sitting on the couch, reading intently, his face covered by a book. Reinado was anxious, who was this mysterious man?
He waited quietly, and at last, the man put down the book and stood up with the help of Marlena—ah, isn't this the new Latin teacher in our school? Reinado suddenly realized, and was so excited that he almost cheered on the spot.
It turned out that this beautiful goddess would appear in the town every day, just going to her father's house and taking care of his daily life, and this person was the new Latin teacher, Professor Pocinor, who was also Marlena's father!
Nino died on the front lines, leaving his beautiful wife, Marlena, to face the burdens of life alone. The people of the town are indifferent to this, and even gloat at her return to singleness, each with selfish intentions and desires.
However, only Reinado showed sympathy and concern for Marlena. He would go to church every day, light a candle for Marlena, attend Sunday Mass, and pray to God that God would take care of Marlena for a few years before he would be willing to take over her life.
Marlena has been living alone for 10 months since her husband's death, but her pension has recently been suspended. In order to make ends meet, she decided to look for a job, but she was frustrated and no one wanted to hire her.
In this case, some men began to harass her and spread gossip about her dishonor. Soon after, Professor Possino received an anonymous letter at the school accusing his daughter of having an affair with a man in the town and also claiming that his reputation had been discredited.
Lieutenant Cardi's True Confession].
Lieutenant Cardi, the town's prince charming, is handsome and single. He brought flowers and visited Marlena, and the two shared food and talked heartily.
Does Marlena really love him? She's just looking for someone to lean on. After dinner, she sent Lieutenant Kadai out, and Lieutenant Kadai kissed her affectionately goodbye, and he asked nostalgically when they would meet tomorrow.
However, when Marlena slammed the door shut, his heart was empty.
One night, in the silence of the curfew, Lieutenant Cardai was blocked at the door of his house by the dentist who had been lingering in Marlena's mind. In the scuffle, the dentist's wife arrived at the scene with the police, and this sudden farce suddenly became a topic of conversation.
Gossip drifted around like fallen leaves in the wind, and some even said, "We thought she had a lover, but it turned out to be two!" This made Marlena's father deeply ashamed, and he quit his job at the school.
On this day, Marlena came to her father's house as usual, but she found that the door lock had been changed and could not be turned anyway. She looked upstairs, the windows closed, as if her father had severed ties with her.
Marlena was incredulous, tears streaming down her cheeks as she slowly turned away.
Marlena responds to the lawyer].
Falsely accused by the dentist's wife, Marlena finds herself in a situation where she has to seek legal assistance to prove her innocence. It turns out that the dentist who suffers from paranoia has delusions about Marlena and is convinced that Marlena is his fiancée.
As a result, the dentist was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. As for Lieutenant Carday, he stated that he had only met Marlena twice, and that they were just ordinary friends, and there was no unknown relationship.
The onlookers sighed, and Marlena burst into tears again.
Marlena is just at fault for the ruthlessness of fate, lonely, what is her sin? Her beauty only attracts jealousy and criticism. The lawyer's words in court are touching, but he forcibly has a relationship with Marlena behind his back on the grounds that the lawyer's fees are insufficient.
The war took her husband, rumors left her without family and friends, and even the officers who once liked her betrayed her for self-preservation. Now, she can only rely on this lawyer, but he is an old man, bowed up, so ugly that no woman wants to marry him.
What's even more tragic is that this old man is a mom boy and can't convince his mother to accept Marlena, so he proposes to break up. Reinado knew all this, he hated the lawyer for being a bastard, hated God for not keeping his promise to protect Marlena.
The cruelty of fate has plunged Marlena into endless difficulties
The lawsuit caused Marlena's reputation to plummet, and she lost the respect of everyone.
Once, the men on the street would appreciate her, but they didn't dare to act rashly; Now, they are blatantly flirting with her.
As war rages and supplies become increasingly scarce, Marlena is often threatened with starvation. What made her even more sad was that her father was tragically killed in the air-dropped bomb.
In this foreign town, Marlena has no relatives and no cause, and has been slandered, ruined, and discredited by others.
No one wants to give her a job, is she really going to starve to death here?
That night, Marlena made a difficult decision to cut off her long, flowing hair. The next day, in an indomitable spirit, she appeared in the town square with short fiery red hair, bright flaming red lips, and a low-cut black dress, and she sat there in an uncompromising gesture, with her purse on the table, crossed her legs, and took out a cigarette.
When the men handed out lighters to light cigarettes for her, Marlena's eyes glistened with tears. This is the most shocking scene in the movie, and it is also her helpless choice - in order to survive, she has to give up her dignity in exchange for a little food.
Marlena became the target of public criticism, and was seen as a prey by the men, who coveted her, began to approach her openly and secretly. As a result, the women in the town became even angrier.
They hated the betrayal of men, but they were powerless to change their men, so they turned their anger on Marlena. When the women of the town are so jealous that they can't help themselves, that power becomes cruel and enormous.
Marlena was accused of being a thief for hosting enemy soldiers. The women of the town, finding a high-sounding reason, dragged Marlena out into the street and brutally beat her in the name of justice.
The women were mad, with hideous smiles on their faces, their fists raining down on Marlena, her clothes torn, and her beautiful hair shaved ......
How many people's husbands have actually stood up for Marlena? How many people are really involved in family conflicts because of Malena? I'm afraid there aren't many, they just use this siege to vent their inner jealousy and distortion.
The men who had been so enthusiastic about Marlena just watched, flinched, and didn't even dare to step forward to stop them. The women trampled en masse, the men watched indifferently—Marlena, scarred and ragged, in humiliation, resentment, and despair, let out a scream of grief and rage at those who had committed the violence.
Then, like an abandoned puppy, Marlena fled the town in embarrassment. Reinado witnessed this, and his heart ached, but he didn't have the courage or the power to stop it.
The warrior returns, looking for his lover].
After suffering from the war, Nino returns home to find his home in a refugee camp and his wife, Marlena, missing. He searched everywhere for his wife, but people avoided him or sneered at him.
Despite losing his right arm, Nino did not give up, and he was determined to find his wife and bring her home. In his most difficult time, Reinado helped him and wrote to him to tell him the truth about Marlena.
Nino decides to drop his bags and take a train ride to find his beloved Marlena. Although the journey was difficult, he was convinced that Marlena was loyal to him and that she was the only one for him.
Nino and Marlena.
Only in the hometown can we regain the lost dignity].
The couple embarked on a journey back to their homeland. Marlena took Nino's arm and looked through the astonished gazes of those who had hurt her.
She lowered her eyes and clutched at the hem of her husband's shirt, as if this was the only way to find a sense of security. Suddenly, she slipped and nearly fell. Nino immediately slowed down, gently supported her, and firmly led her in the direction of home.
He knows that only by returning to his hometown can he regain his lost dignity.
Marlena is no longer glamorous, and her wrinkles and thick waist have become the subject of private discussion among the women at the bazaar. However, she is like an ordinary woman, wearing the same clothes and doing the same daily shopping as the women of the town.
As they accepted Marlena, Marlena smiled when someone said good morning to her for the first time.
Reinado never mustered the courage to talk to Marlena, and every time it was a passing one. But at this moment, he walked up to her: "Good luck, madam! With that, he pedaled his bike tightly, as if he was running away from something.
What escaped was my innocent affection for her. Time flies, and now I love many women. When they hugged me tightly and asked me if I would remember them, I would answer in the affirmative, 'Yes, I will remember you'.
However, the only thing I never forgot was the ...... of the person who never asked meShe's Malena. ”
Is Marlena's beauty wrong? 】
In this world, there are two things that are the most difficult to look at: one is the sun, and the other is human nature. Beautiful Marlena, just because her husband participated in the war, she was bullied by the whole city!
Men slander her because they can't get her; Women spread rumors out they were jealous of her. The beautiful Marlena, pushed into an endless quagmire by ugly people, can't extricate herself.
In this world, beauty is often a sin because people tend to be jealous and ostracize you because of it. If you are too good or too weak, there will be people who want to suppress you.
They will only accept you if you are like them. This social phenomenon makes people feel helpless and sad, but it also shows us the selfishness and cruelty of human nature.
Fortunately, we also have those who can disguise themselves as being like others, and they are able to live more freely in this world. This story uses Marlena's experience as an example to expose people's possessive and destructive desire for beauty, and makes us understand that beauty is not a sin, but a gift, and we should cherish and respect it, not envy and destroy it.
In-depth Interpretation] The Beautiful Legend of Sicily, the protagonist Marlena is not only a symbol of an independent woman, but also the embodiment of Italian history. She went through war, was misunderstood, and returned to the ordinary, just as Italy went through World War II, was criticized, and finally re-emerged.
Reinado's love, like the love of the Italian people for their country, is steadfast and unwavering no matter how many difficulties they endure. What do you think are the deeper meanings of the story of Marlena and Italy?