Il conformista (The Conformist)

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  June 15, 2009

  flixsterman

  The 'look' of Bertolucci's Conformist is stunning. The locations, the lighting, the overall cinematography - just beautiful. Having given that quarter, I have to say that this wouldn't rank among my top 100 films. Much like the hitman's limp commitment to his cause, I f...( read more)ound myself disconnected and indifferent to his circumstance. After all, what does he really accomplish? And why should I care?
  
  Look, this is a milestone film and I applaud Bertolucci for it's inception and presentation, but I still feel that he has at least two films that outshine this one. Simply a good motion picture that's a tad over-rated.

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  June 6, 2009

  pier007

  The story of a man who shook hands with the devil in his despair of trying to run away from his true self at any cost. but when his loyalty is put to the test his conscience and ideals, or the lack of them, will shatter him little by little.
  Conspicuous, sultry and aesthetically ...( read more)impressive.

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  October 13, 2008

  FangsFirst

  This is the first Bernardo Bertolucci film I've ever seen, though probably not the first title my brain would once have associated with him--of course, at the same time, my brain had also never put together Bertolucci who did Last Tango in Paris with Bertolucci who did ...( read more)The Last Emperor and so on--simply because I never thought of all the movies at the same time (such is often the case when I've never seen any work from a director). From the cover art and vaguely drawn associations, I was expecting something akin to Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samouraï, which was helped along by authentic 1930s costuming (recalling the smart fedora of Alain Delon's Jef) and a passing resemblance (likely helped itself by costuming) to Jef in star Jean-Louis Trintignant. I ended up seeing something entirely different, though, and pleasing in an entirely different way.
  
  Marcello Clerici (Trintignant) is a man in 1930s Italy, then under the control of Fascism and its Italian leader Benito Mussolini. He discusses his marriage plans with his blind friend Italo (José Quaglio), who chuckles at Clerici's motivations, based around his pursuit of "normality." His future wife is Giulia (Stefania Sandrelli), a middle class woman who comes from a very "average" background, her mother wondering what the upper class Clerici could see in her. But marriage is not Clerici's only avenue in his pursuit--he also strives for political normality, by becoming a Fascist, there assigned the job of pursuing Anti-Fascists through contact Manganiello (Gastone Mochin). His assignment is Professor Quadri (Enzo Tarascio), formerly his own professor. After going through his first Catholic confession in fifteen years (into which he was argued by his fiancée and her mother), wherein we learn of his youthful abuse for his family's money--of which he is ashamed, we learn, when he first meets Manganiello at his family's decaying villa, where his morphine-addicted mother does little beyond sleep with her own chaffeur--and the near-abuse suffered at the hands of his saviour from said abuse, whom he fires upon and leaves to die, we see some idea of what has driven him to his current pursuit and occupation. He goes to meet Quadri, who is protected by his wife Anna (Dominique Sanda), who Clerici finds alluring. It's then a "cat and mouse" game, not between characters, but between Clerici's desire to be "normal" and his internal moral repulsion at what is asked of him to achieve it.
  
  The first and most important of thing in this movie, no offense to any of the actors involved, is the unbelievable cinematography and framing put together by Bertolucci and Vittorio Storaro. It's lush and deep and gorgeous, colours carefully meted out, constructed, separated and arranged in every frame, but this is done with lighting and framing and placement, obvious and yet hidden--we can tell things are placed, but nothing feels unnatural at the same time, so it's only distracting by virtue of the fact that it isn't. Fluid camera movements follow action, even if it is a simple transfer of focus from character to character and not a character moving with the frame, and are intrinsically visually pleasing in and of themselves, the movement only becoming ragged when in pursuit of foot-propelled assassins pursuing a target, appropriately and yet still seeming perfectly controlled. Crepuscular rays of sunlight (known in the gaming world, for instance as "God Rays") shine through a snow-covered forest, contrasting natural beauty with the miniscule, petty, vicious actions of man in the foreground, but not to contrast nature and humanity so much as to use that contrast to enhance the repugnant nature of the acts taking place.
  
  The Conformist is one of those relatively metaphorical films that leaves me both a bit worried and relatively confident--I feel like I've got what the filmmakers were trying to say, but worried that I missed something that changes it all. Generally I wander around and find that if I'm wrong, I'm at least in the majority, and that what I missed only enhances the meaning I'd taken, rather than contradicting or changing it. Clearly Bertolucci (from Alberto Moravia's novel) is shining a harsh light on Fascism, but moreso on the weakness of those who would endorse it without conviction (bringing to mind the old Italian man in Heller's Catch-22). I've seen many reviews, synposes and comments refer to Clerici as "weak-willed," but I think my words in response to that would be quite thoroughly impolite, referring to what is generally left behind in the street in a town that still has horse-drawn carts. Clerici is not weak-willed, nor is he a full-fledged coward, at the very least in the way that Trintignant potrays him. He is morally weak, ethically weak, philosophically weak--but his will is really rather strong. He pursues his ideal of "normality" almost up to murder--a pretty fair bit of will, and a not-surprising amount unmanaged. He's a coward only when it comes to murder, in that he will neither pursue his ideal to that extent, nor speak out against it. He's not stupid, either, for he understands, when he talks to Quadri of Plato's cave, that the people of Italy are the people in Plato's cave. He makes a choice to follow the flow of the country's politics despite his awareness of their contradiction of what is clearly his own internal morality--he sneers incredulously when the priest he confesses to suggests that his homosexual encounter--being less-than-consensual, though perhaps at least partly that--the most grave, despite his admission to guilt of murder, and he finds himself unable to murder anyone after that. This is definitely weakness, but it is not weakness of will. Meursault in L'Étranger was a man of weak will, simply doing things with little mind of his own. Clerici pursues his goal, which takes will. This doesn't make him perfectly likable, but at least relatively sympathetic, especially as we can see he has reason--whether we think it sufficient or not--to take on such an aim. And of course it is not the normality itself that he wants--he wants the security he feels will naturally follow, and who cannot sympathize with desiring security? Some reject safety, but few reject security--at the least, security of the mind, if not the complete ability to respond to life as one sees fit and not worry about engendering the wrath of those around.
  
  It's a beautiful film, though, and one that has a clear intention--condemnation of the rejection of personal morality in exchange for the safety of the average and the unnoticed, of choosing the latter over the former almost without exception, even if the details of exactly how, who and why these things are seen in the film are not universally agreed upon (at least, insofar as I can tell).

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  September 29, 2008

  rubystevens

  a stunning looking complex character study of a weak man with issues who just wants to appear 'normal' and so becomes a fascist. his loyalty is put to the test when he is ordered to kill his former teacher, a dissident exile in france. this was a dubbed version which annoyed me...( read more), however it didn't affect the gorgeous cinematography of vittorio storaro. i think i prolly need to watch it again to fully appreciate.

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  September 29, 2008

  vierasesine

  An intriguing character study that leaves you wondering even long after the film is over. The non-linear story-telling may be slightly jarring or confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, the story opens up before you quite nicely.
  
  I think the use of Trio Lescano was ...( read more)pretty brilliant, not only because they were highly popular at that time, but also because their popularity declined and ended just as quickly as it has started when the fascists suddenly accused them of incorporating hidden messages to the enemy into their songs.

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  November 18, 2009

  ElCochran90

  "I've already repented. I want to be excused by society. Yes. I want to confess today the sin I'll commit tomorrow. One sin atones for another. It is the price I must pay society. And I shall pay it."
  
  IL CONFORMISTA (1970)
  
  Director: Ber...( read more)nardo Bertolucci
  Country: Italy / France / West Germany
  Genre: Drama / Thriller
  Length: 111 minutes
  
  
  
  Bernardo Bertolucci is a passionate sensationalist. The remarkable Italian auteur ventures into the never-ending realm of romance, sexuality, broken hearts and political Fascism. Therefore, Il Conformista is immediately positioned among the most brilliant and intelligent political thrillers of modern cinematography, even reaching the filmic category of Costa-Gavras' Z (1969). Moreover, the unparalleled and poetical vision of Bertolucci give a very different twist to the genre, from being a smartly shot direct criticism towards Fascism to becoming a wonderful essay on the human condition and the corruptibility of socially influential overpowerment. To call it influential may be a partially misleading statement; it relies more on the film-noir visual style without the black-and-white photography, the bourgeois and elegant approach established by Federico Fellini (La Dolce Vita [1960], 8½ [1963] and Michelangelo Antonioni (La Notte [1961], L'Eclisse [1962]), and old criminal stereotypes than executing a noticeable influence among its genre. However, it IS influential. Bertolucci's definitive work of art and best film of his entire filmography is an absolute masterpiece, a feast for the senses and a strong questioning towards the veracity of politics.
  
  The story is set in the pre-war, 1938 Rome where Marcello, a submissively operational man, courts a young woman and both organize a honeymoon in Paris. There, he slowly starts to become a fawning fascist after accepting a job from Mussollini contacts that consists in assassinating an old professor of his, now a political dissident, who had fled Italy when Fascism had already been established. Being troubled by the memories of a pedophilic, homosexual encounter he had in 1917, a tragic event that is shown through flashbacks, Marcello's loyalty and prioritized necessities will be put to a hard test, unleashing catastrophic and unforgettable consequences. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, stupidly losing it against William Friedkin's The French Connection (1971). Bernardo Bertolucci won the Interfilm Award - Recommendation and the Journalists' Special Award, and was nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival of 1970.
  
  In order to fully appreciate such a unique masterpiece like Il Conformista, it is always a mandatory necessity to analyze both the previous political context of Italy before and after the Second World War and the possible intentions of the director. Fascism was an authoritative and nationalist power which tremendous force was executed in order to give false promises about the utter extermination of a disorganized anarchy through a corporatist economic system, yet such persecution of an ambitious order ensued violent means because of the resignation of relevant political liberties. The main character Marcello, a heavily influenced man who works for Mussolini and whose weak will and low capacity of decision-taking symbolizes the Italian society, is a political puppet. Of course, a natural and humanistic perspective had to be applied to a conventional, male character. However, it is the very submission he presents to his bosses and, quite possibly yet not justifiably, the psychological trauma because of what he went through during his childhood the elements that strengthen the mental connection he slowly built towards sex and violence. The sex and violence, therefore, are the bases of his impulses, impulses that are challenged when he experiences an encountering with a romantic relationship that had failed in the past. The job for which he is assigned for is the emotional motor that is supposed to trigger the dependence of his will.
  
  The pace is undeniably demanding, but rewarding during several enchanting sequences throughout. The events slowly unfold in front of our eyes with a very striking poetry, deliciously orchestrated through a considerably powerful, gorgeously balanced and ambitiously vast colored cinematography thanks to the work of Vittorio Storaro. The attention to detail from inanimate typical objects to the emphasis put to a floor full of autumn leafs dancing with an aggressive, yet peaceful wind constructs a visually beautiful experience. A celebrative musical score is displayed, most of it consisting in background and partying music, highlighting the absolute charm of the sequence where Giulia, brilliantly interpreted by actress Stefania Sandrelli, disseminates joy and convinces several people, under the influence of a total state of alcoholism, to hold hands and start dancing together, exiting and reentering the bar. The main performance of Jean-Louis Trintignant as the troubled assassin Marcello is decent enough to guarantee a full analysis of his personality and the societal condition that surrounds him. The calculated editing and a wonderful, brutally painful climax are offered in order to close another chapter of a solitary existence.
  
  Technically speaking, cinema was entering a period of fully explicit and audacious expression. The standards of worldwide censorship were ultimately challenged in the same way Il Conformista, among other scandalous, controversial and cult films, raised the bar for the creation of ideas that generated important debates. The Seventh Art was already a more financially successful art form than literature by that time; therefore, the extraordinarily talented adaptation that Bernardo Bertolucci made from Alberto Moravia's sensational novel was full of poetical elements that disguised a possibly dangerous political and anarchic nature. The explicitness of the sexual content and the mercilessness of graphic violence had been enhanced, adapting a role of meaningful substance and maximizing the intentions of the movie aforementioned magnum opuses rather than serving the purpose of senselessness and perversity. Nevertheless, the original roots and influences of the twist that Bertolucci gave to the genre are still present, like if the French New Wave and the Italian neorealism had a cataclysmic encounter. Thus, the massive explosion of sensations instantly erased the relevance of the audience belonging to any particular party or trend. Il Conformista is neutral; nevertheless, the conformism of the main character is the aspect that is immediately questioned. With some symbolisms, references towards totalitarian governments that even resemble dictatorships and a unique direction, the film is one of the greatest achievements within its genre, a movie that has the capacity of shaking the floor of a conventional code of ethics and a tormenting, instrumental sonata where the most basic human impulses and colossal governmental monsters collide.
  
  100/100

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  October 15, 2009

  anastasia57001

  one of the early Bertolucci masterpieces- immaculate cinematography, and a theme that has been theoretically analyzed SO much by academia that is reason enough not to mention more about it here. absolute classic and a must-watch-it for any serious film buff.

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  October 5, 2009

  kunam88

  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...( read more).,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!

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  September 29, 2009

  sheriefzohairy

  Watching this film is a joy.

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  September 21, 2009

  byby5

  Complicated plot line, but the movie is rally well done. Good artistic sense of lighting and framing

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