Italian diva Monica Bellucci celebrated her 57th birthday in September this year, and there is still no woman in world cinema who could be compared to her. Beautiful, good looking, modest, a true lady, all that, and much more, thanks to her endless charisma.
The Italian film actress is the eternal muse of the world’s most respected photographers, and magazines are racing over who will decorate their front page with her face first.
Monica’s endless beauty quickly came to the fore, so she started modeling at the age of 16.
It is interesting that they often stopped her on the street and offered her millions, and the waiters did not charge her for food and drinks because they wanted her to visit their bars as often as possible. Her professors pointed out that she was so beautiful that she deconcentrated them. Because of that, she was uncomfortable, so she dressed as a boy, but later she realized that there was no reason to be ashamed and learned to live with her beauty. She continued her education at the Faculty of Law in Perugia, and in parallel with her studies, she worked as a model. Due to business engagements, she neglected law and devoted herself to modeling and acting.
In 1999, she married French actor Vincent Cassel and has two daughters with him: Deva and Leoni. During both pregnancies, she posed nude for Vanity Fair magazine and thus rebelled against Italian laws that did not support artificial insemination.
However, Monica is not only a beauty but also a very talented actress, who has played in some of the greatest masterpieces of film art in the past decades. The characters who play are prone to sin or brutal fate, and often experience great pain and go through incredible situations: melancholic seducers, helpless heroines, funny women, characters who make mistakes, face defeat and suffering, living on the edge.
These are 6 phenomenal Monica Bellucci movies that you must see.
Irreversible
Written and directed by Gaspar Noah, Irréversible is a story about Marcus and Alex, played by Monica. Within hours, one night in the couple’s life escalated into a whirlwind of violence and pain. Since long explicit scenes of sexual violence were shown in this film, the film upset the audience at the 55th Cannes Film Festival. Irréversible is also the story of fear, great beauty and a fierce ambush that turns into revenge. The film has an unusual narrative structure as the scenes depict previous events that led to the ultimate tragic outcome.
Spectre
Monica Bellucci played in one of the most expensive James Bond movies, Spectre.
She played a Marco Sciarra’s widow, Lucia. Her husband worked at an organization of businessmen with criminal and terrorit connections. James Bond saves Lucia, and then he seduces her for information, but later leaves her as every other girl.
Monica did an amazing job playing another James Bond’s girl.
The Passion of Jesus
In Mel Gibson’s controversial film, Monica plays Mary Magdalene, a prostitute who is saved from stoning and who decides to spread the knowledge about Jesus Christ. This film attracted terrible criticism, due to the brutality of the scenes, but also the alleged anti-Semitism.
Malena
Monica is presented here as an icon of beauty, film, glamor and charm, like some great divas from the past. This film was also celebrated. Many believe that this is her best role on film.
In Giuseppe Tornatore’s film, this great woman plays the role of Magdalena Scordi, who is far better known in the place by the nickname Malena. The film is set in a small village in Sicily during World War II. It is an unusual story about the enchantment and daydreaming of Renato, a thirteen-year-old who is obsessed with Malena, the most desirable woman in the city who lives alone, because her husband went to the army. As Malena represents the dream of every man in the city, she becomes the object of envy and gossip of women, who perceive her as a threat. That is why they decided to launch an attack against her .
The Wonders
Bellucci had a small but extremely strong role in the film “The Wonders”, which won the Grand Prix in Cannes.
She plays the role of Mila Katana, the host of TV competition, and a kind of princess of a strange kingdom, created by her father. The film shows a unique portrait of the family and reveals to us the emotional story of Gelsomina growing up, who grew up with her three younger sisters in a beekeeper family, in a country villa in central Italy. Their father persistently tries to keep them in isolation, protected in his village home.
Sanguepazzo
The film reveals the story of love and curse between Oswald Valenti and Luisa Ferida – two unscrupulous movie stars who lived in the 1930s, during the period of fascism, and who actively participate in propaganda activities that support a violent, anarchic regime. This couple was addicted to drugs and promiscuous sexuality and was destined for a tragic fate that coincided with the end of Mussolini’s regime.
Monica herself stated that she was haunted by the character of Louise, who constantly had self-destructive adventures managed by her love for Oswald.
“She lives one of those passionate stories that will take you to hell, he is addicted to morphine, and she is addicted to it”, said Monica.
Nina Smith 