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A cold, bleak ambience provides the perfect environment for Bernardo Bertolucci’s shocking, mesmerizing take on sexuality, politics and identity. It’s a film shrouded in secrecy and suspense, existing in a brazenly desolate universe that we are led through by a very mysterious lead character. Throughout the entire film we try to get a grasp on who this man is and what his motivations are, but even by the end we are never quite sure; perhaps he tries to please, perhaps his childhood filled with molestation and murder has led to the way he is now or perhaps he truly is just a symbolism for society’s need to conform.

There is a moment at the end of the film that shockingly displays Bertolucci’s theme on conformity here, and left me stunned. Several times during the film it is brought up that Marcello Clerici is a Fascist and within seconds at the end he turns on his friend, and in a dark tunnel he outs him as a Fascist and persecutes him, in a desperate attempt to conform and be accepted. Watching this scene it is impossible not to ruminate on the numerous times in the history of society that people have inexplicably shifted in a big way due to a change in power or majority opinion. Here Bertolucci presents a blunt, stunning metaphor that left me thinking on it long after the fade to black.

One other moment that has stuck with me more than anything else in the film as a shining example of its brilliance and that is the assassination scene in the woods. As suspense grows and grows leading up to it, we are treated (or tortured) with an almost neverending moment of mystery and desperation as a beautiful woman flails through the woods, trying anything to avoid her inevitable death and we know that she can’t escape it. Bertolucci made a remarkable decision in leaving Marcello Clerici in his car during this scene and having the execution played out with a group of men dressed in the exact same clothes and hiding their faces from us. This shrouds the scene in extreme mystery and terror, but it also serves as a painful metaphor for our refusal to accept difference, as a society. He sends these faceless, analogous shells to murder anyone who thinks differently than the majority and it stuns the audience, bringing to mind the times in history when mass executions resulted from society’s refusal to believe in anything different than what the majority thinks.

Despite all of the powerful, unique themes and symbolism, where The Conformist shines brightest is perhaps in it’s aesthetics. In a vein similar to that of Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven, Bertolucci uses the visuals (with breathtaking cinematography by Vittiorio Storaro) here to create an ambience where the emotions that are evoked from the viewer come mostly due to the aesthetics rather than the story and characters. It’s a technique that has only been done perfectly a few times from what I’ve seen, but this is without a doubt one of the finest examples of that. The use of vibrant color in some scenes and dull grays in other instantly bring a reaction from the viewer and Storaro’s use of tracking shots focusing on Clerici amidst wide landscapes does an excellent job of eliciting that desolate, isolated sensation.

Il Conformista is the story of a moderate fascist. A fascist by proxy. A fascist who only wants to be a fascist because it is what everyone else does. He is not a sly, cunning or unpleasant man as most depictions of fascists have us believe. He is however a troubled, sombre and humourless man with a difficult history of embarrassing sexual encounters who wants to cover them over by becoming a normal man. So he marries a pretty yet annoying immature woman and sets about doing some work for the secret police.

He is very well played by Jean-Louis Trintignant, although unfortunately the copy I watched (a Korean cheapy sort of affair) had no Italian soundtrack so he was dubbed by an American. This doesn’t hinder the experience, for once, as the cinematography is so brilliant and the plot so thick and layered that I just didn’t mind.

Bertolucci developed a reputation some years later for making erotic, deeply sex-obsessed movies which often bordered on pornography, and many speak of The Conformist as being ‘before all that’. However, the theme of damagingly unorthodox sexual relationships is still present here, just not in quite such explicit detail. The ambivalence of Bertolucci’s sexuality is toyed with, but (reflecting his own introverted character), eschewed instead of being more heavily implied or even directly confronted.

It is a better film about 1930s Italian fascism than the notorious shocker ‘Salo’ – not because it is more controlled and accessible but because it portrays the individual’s involvement with a regime and the ambiguities and hypocrisies he must face when operating under the control of the state.

BERNARDO BERTOLUCCI’S “CONFORMIST” (1971)
When we think about “fascists” we imagine an authoritarian person who crudely believes in extremist political doctrine. But what about the polite, delicate, tolerant and rational fascists? Do they exist? Bertolucci’s “Conformist” shows a person with a liberal sensibility, intellectual sophistication and existential taste as a collaborator with a despotic and ruthless political power and analyzes the reasons for this spiritual surrender (including not so much sexual traumas from his childhood [although represented quite elaborately and meaningfully] as a dream about social recognition as an ultimate proof of personal value). According to Bertolucci, inferiority complex feeds conformism.
Find the article about Marcello Clerichi and his personal and social relations “Psychology of Conformism during Totalitarian Historical Periods”(posted in Sept., 2009) [including the analysis of screen shots from Bertolucci’s film at:
www.actingoutpolitics.com
By Victor

(Saturday / February 20, 2010 / 7:00pm)

Visually tasty, this film by Bertolucci. Another masterpiece under his belt. With Vittorio Storaro’s lovely, top notch, ravishing cinematography, you might as well eat this piece of film. But the thing that stands out is the storyline, a suspense thriller made especially for people who loves films. The reality of the desire of revenge crawls all over the place in this film, but manages to concentrate only on the important part of everyday lives. Savvy.

The bulk of the time I felt lost when it came to the story. I didn’t know who was who, or what anyone’s plan was. This didn’t help me enjoy the film, obviously.

Fortunately the film is so beautifully shot that it kept my interest in that department. Great crane work, in fact most of the camera work was fantastic. Also the locations were quite good.

The performances were fine. They weren’t anything great but they weren’t bad either.

If the story was more engaging, I might have called this a great film. But it wasn’t so it just stands as an okay film with superb cinematography.

since it is a bertolucci movie,it is no doubt has a beautiful cinematography.but what i like the most from THE CONFORMIST is not the beauty itself,but more of its unstructured narrative,which is a rarity on those days.this is a film that demand a second viewing.,and for good sake.,the script didn’t give a simple A to B narrative.in fact,the movie rather very confused to watch,especially in the first hour.but,like trying to solve a puzzle,when the piece is done,then all its left is a feeling of satisfaction.,truly bertolucci masterpiece!

As indicated by the number posts crediting the film for it’s beauty, I think it’s safe to say that this film is aesthetically perfect. Generally speaking, Bertolucci has never failed to make a gorgeous looking film, but has failed numerous times telling a story which draws the viewer in. There in lies the downfall of “The Conformist”, and I would recommend watching it but not expecting much more than a display of his prominent artistic vision.