Two friends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.
Amidst the war climate, a teenage boy discovering himself becomes love-stricken by Malèna, a sensual woman living in a small, narrow-minded Italian town.
A recently-widowed father of five finds himself overwhelmed when he's left to play father and mother to a group of kids in whose lives he hadn't taken a whole lot of interest in a long time, if ever.