Le conformiste

Despite the wide praise for this film, I did not find it to be as good as many critics judge it to be. Bertolucci's film simply failed to engage me as I had hoped.

At the very least, anyone watching this film ought first to read the Wikipedia summary of the novel, The Conformist. It will help you understand what is happening. However be warned: The film omits various key plot points in the novel and changes the novel ending. Only after I read this Wikipedia summary of the novel did I understand various parts of the film.

Also a warning: Though I am not Italian I have a reasonably good knowledge of the history of Italian Fascism. So I understood the film's historical references. If you lack such a background, I doubt that the basic plot will even be intelligible to you. For such people, a review of Italian history in Wikipedia probably is a good idea.

A weak-willed Italian man (Jean-Louis Trintignant) becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher (Enzo Tarascio), now a political dissident.

The film is said to be a case study in the psychology of fascism: Marcello Clerici is a bureaucrat dehumanized by a dysfunctional upper class family and a childhood sexual trauma. Political philosopher Takis Fotopoulos calls the film "a beautiful portrait of this psychological need to conform and be 'normal' at the social level, in general, and the political level, in particular."

I loved it. I think it was very symbolic of not just fascism, but politics and humanity in general. There really is a desire to conform, and normality varies based on when and where you live. Political ideas might seem weird in one place and not another. The same with morality. Could a society exist where the removal of your friends is just a part of life? Sure. (The Mafia does it.)

Bernardo Bertolucci's stunning early-1970s classic looks absolutely beautiful nearly forty years later. It tells the story of a fascist in 1930s Italy who is assigned to root out and assassinate anti-fascists. As the story develops, we learn that a childhood event played a large role in shaping this man's perception of himself, and that the life he is leading is largely a lie.

The story Bertolucci tells is odd and compelling, but what kept me glued to the television screen was the film's mesmerizing visual style. Bertolucci collaborated with cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, and it's not an exaggeration to say that they create some of the most beautiful images I've ever seen in a film. One might expect Bertolucci to adopt a sombre color palette for telling such a gloomy story, but that's not the case. On the contrary, he opts for lush colors, striking contrasts, and stylized lighting to create a slightly surrealistic environment that's one small step removed from reality as we know it.

A truly remarkable movie.

Grade: A+

Set in 1938 as it follows the title character (Jean Louis Trintignant), a Fascist operative in Mussolini's Italy, is given orders to travel to Paris and assassinate his former school teacher. Trintignant is trying his best to fit into the society of his day: working for the ruling party and marrying a pretty, if vacuous, girl (Stefania Sandrelli) from a respectable family. Things become more complicated when he meets his target's new wife (Dominique Sanda) with whom he falls immediately in love. Will he carry out his orders, even if it means hurting the new woman in his life?

My description makes the film sound rather banal and cliched, but it's anything but. The style of this production is impeccable, and the cinematography by Vittorio Storaro is excellent. There are countless moments throughout the film that could easily be paused and framed as works of art fit for a gallery. Each shot is carefully set-up and arranged, and the camera movements add to the visual flow of the story. Storaro, who would go on to shoot films such as APOCALYPSE NOW, REDS, THE LAST EMPEROR, and DICK TRACY, deserves a spot in the list of greatest cinematographers for this film alone. The score by Georges Delerue is also excellent, as is the costume and production Design. I also liked seeing Gastone Moschin, who played Don Fanucci in THE GODFATHER PART II, in another role, here as a fellow fascist operative.

The narrative is very complex, and can be a bit confusing at first. Scenes jump across many different times in the protagonists life, with little warning, and the audience must pay close attention or be lost, especially in the first 40 minutes or so. I think seeing this on the big screen would eliminate much of this possible confusion. For me, though, it never reached the point of annoyance, and I was able to follow along with no trouble.

This is one of few films in which every artist's performance peaks and falls into place: Trintignant (Z (1969), le Secret (1974)) at his best, Bertolucci's best picture so far, and Vittorio Storaro's best cinematography (besides Apocalypse Now). Their cooperation seems to pay off very well (Novecento (1976), Last Emperor (1987)) as they apparently enhance each other's work. With their brilliance they almost turn Marcello into a hero, while he is actually an anti-hero in this non-linear story. It's not only an entertaining personal tragedy, it's also a political thriller with very distinctive music. I couldn't imagine life without Il Conformista anymore (like Amarcord and some other masterpieces).

Always beautiful, never sentimental: poetic from minute to minute. The compositions, lighting and camera-movements made me breathless: I've never seen so much poetic power in one film. Watch for instance the camera's movement to behind the tree when Manganiello searches for Marcello in the small park @ 68 min. And for instance the hand-held scene near the end. Or the camera placements when Marcello comes approaches his mother's house. Actually the entire film is a big poem. See for yourself :-)

I was lucky enough to see this one in a theater just two months after seeing it first (dec 2000). If you have the chance, go see it on a big screen. If you like the looks of this you will probably like 'Una giornata particolare' (1977) and 'Amarcord' (1974) too.

Why o why can't we vote 11 :(