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THE CONFORMIST (1970) (****)

Director Bernardo Bertolucci is best known to the general public for LAST TANGO IN PARIS and THE LAST EMPEROR, but I think this film is his best.

Marcello Clerici (Jean-Louis Trintignant, THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN) is a weak-willed man who joins Mussolini’s fascist secret police so that he can have a “normal” life. Normality is something that Marcello is obsessed with. He marries a beautiful socialite named Giulia (Stefania Sandrelli, DIVORCE – ITALIAN STYLE) so that he will fit in more. On his honeymoon to Paris, he is given a mission to kill his former professor Quadri (Enzo Tarascio, THE DESIGNED VICTIM), who fled Italy when the Fascists took over and is vocal in their opposition. But when he arrives in Paris, Marcello is smitten by Quadri’s young bride Anna (Dominique Sanda, THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS), who is sexually liberated and the epitome of non-conformity.

Bertolucci paints a grim picture of how obsessively trying to fit into any society can led to the loss of one’s soul. Marcello’s internal sexual frustration serves as his internal struggle to hide who he really is inside. Besides the thrilling plot, Bertolucci uses brilliant staging and settings to mirror the internal struggle of Marcello.

As well, the breathtaking cinematography from Vittorio Storaro (DICK TRACY, LADYHAWKE, LAST TANGO IN PARIS) uses light to paint Marcello as a man vacillating between good and evil and even as just a shadow on the wall. The film’s imagery will be forever burned into my brain, especially Marcello first meeting with the professor, the dance and Anna’s kiss on the street. The locations, performances, lighting and camerawork all combine into creating an eerie mood of impending doom and lack of emotion. Few films deserve to be called art more than this one. I cannot recommend this film more. It is a masterpiece.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks