Film: The Conformist
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Country: Italy
Released: July 1970
Runtime: 108 minutes
Genre: Political Thriller
Studio: Mars Film
Influenced: Lina Wertmüller, Paul Thomas Anderson, David Fincher, Luca Guadagnino, Steve Buscemi, Alice Rohrwacher
Adapted from the 1951 novel of the same name by renowned Italian writer Alberto Moravia, The Conformist is a widely celebrated political thriller and a landmark of Italian cinema. The film's conception is closely tied to Bertolucci's personal history and the sociopolitical context of post-war Italy. Raised in an anti-fascist family, Bertolucci was inherently critical of Mussolini's regime, and his worldview found expression in his masterpiece, The Conformist. The decision to adapt Moravia's novel stemmed from the director's desire to create an introspective film that reflected on the psychological ramifications of conforming to an oppressive regime. The film was a co-production between Italian, French and German companies, which marked a trend for European films during that era, given the financial and logistic challenges of producing films in a single country.
Set during the late 1930s, the film follows the story of Marcello Clerici (played by the ever magnificent Jean-Louis Trintignant), a bureaucrat who desperately wants to fit into society's norms, hence the movie's title. Clerici, the son of an unstable father and a morphine-addicted mother, is haunted by childhood sexual trauma in an incident involving a chauffeur. Inevitably, this abuse leaves a significant scar, compelling him to conform and seek a sense of normality within the social order of the fascist state. Marcello grows up to become a member of the secret police in Mussolini's fascist regime, accepting an assignment to assassinate his former professor, Quadri, who's exiled in Paris for anti-fascist activities. Marcello travels to Paris under the pretence of it being his honeymoon with his newlywed bourgeois wife, Giulia.
The Conformist is renowned and highly praised for its groundbreaking narrative and technical innovations. Vittorio Storaro's exquisite cinematography is characterised by its use of colour and light & shade, stylised compositions and innovative camera movements. Also of note is the film's non-linear narrative structure, with Bertolucci employing frequent time jumps and flashbacks, contributing to a profound psychological study of its protagonist and his predicament, which was pioneering during its time. Moreover, the movie's art direction, featuring stark fascist architecture and lavish art-deco interiors, symbolically underscores the film's themes of conformity and oppression.
Throughout the narrative, Bertolucci employs a complex structure, continually oscillating between Marcello's past and present, interweaving these timelines to present a deeper psychological understanding of the protagonist. In Paris, Marcello is torn between his mission, his memories and his unexpected emotional connection with Anna, Quadri's young wife. The film's climax is a tragic but fitting reflection of the grim consequences of Marcello's choices and his life as a conformist. In terms of immediate impact, Bertolucci's film served as a powerful critique of the fascist regime and initiated a wider dialogue in Europe on political and individual responsibility.
P.S. As an aside on other notable Bertolucci films, I detested Last Tango in Paris (1972) – not because I'm a prude, it's just the characters are so dull – but adored The Last Emperor (1987) and enjoyed (but also endured to some extent) his period drama 1900, released in 1976.
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