The Conformist

I have been a fan of Bertolucci for quite a while now - his recent films like "Stealing Beauty" and "The Dreamers" make my all-time favourites' list, while his acclaimed "The Last Emperor", which I saw years ago, didn't make me a great impression: it was definitely a well-made epic, just didn't fascinate me like some of his other films. Same thing with his controversial "Last Tango in Paris": other than Marlon Brando's devastating performance, which will always be a must-see for those who admire raw acting, the film's daring (for its time) approach to sexuality is now outdated, and the film is rather dull in its apparently liberal speech (the fact that I'm not exactly a Maria Schneider fan doesn't help). And last night, I finally watched the extraordinary "The Conformist", arguably his masterpiece and undoubtedly one of the greatest films ever made.

Based on a novel by Italian author Albert Moravia (who also wrote the novel that inspired Godard's "Contempt"), "The Conformist" is the story of a closeted homosexual, Marcello (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who becomes a fascist yes-man, marrying a clueless girl, Giulia (Stefania Sandrelli) and going to Paris for their honeymoon. Marcello's bosses ask him to kill his old college mentor, Quadri (Enzo Tarascio), an anti-fascist who fled Italy to live in Paris with his young, beautiful and idealistic wife, Anna (Dominique Sanda). Anna and Marcello are former lovers, but that's not the only pitfall in Marcello's plan, nor is it stronger than his tragic conformism to an exacerbated political regime and the fear of living as a "pederast"/having his homosexuality made public.

The political factor is an open part of the plot, while Marcello's sexuality is very ambiguous (he seems to have real feelings for Anna, yet a childhood trauma and a homophobic attitude show his tragic character formation). "The Conformist" works as a riveting political thriller and a haunting character study, and it's impossible to praise this film without mentioning Vittorio Storaro's breath-taking cinematography, possibly his greatest (and that's saying a lot) and certainly one of the very best in film history. The whole film is so beautifully shot that every scene seems to be taken out of a painting; it could perfectly be photographed now rather than 38 years ago and it wouldn't look any better. The performances are all magnificent, particularly Trintignant, Sandrelli and Sanda, each perfectly portraying blind rage, ignorance and idealism, respectively. All in all, as close to perfection as film-making gets, and as timeless as its main themes (politics, conformism and sexuality) - if you think this couldn't happen today, take a look around and tell me how many gay Republicans you know?

10/10.

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.)

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 :(

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.

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.