Director Bernardo Bertolucci (1942-2018) initially wished to become a poet like his father. He attended the Faculty of Modern Literature at the University of Rome from 1958 to 1961, where his film career as an assistant director to Piero Paolo Pasolini began. Shortly after, Bertolucci left the university without graduating and began making movies of his own.
At the age of 24, BB directed “Before The Revolution”, which earned strong praise internationally and has since gained classic status, being called a masterpiece of Italian cinema. However, this was six years before BB filmed “The Conformist,”which by all rights deserved and continues to deserve the m-word.
An adaptation of the Alberto Moravia novel, TC was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and inspired a new generation of young filmmakers, including Scorsese and Coppola. Viewing a remastered version of TC today at Film Forum, 40 years after I first saw it, I can see why.
Set in 1930’s Italy, the film follows Marcello Clerici (Jean-Louis Trintignant), a cultivated and intellectual bureaucrat who is largely dehumanized by an intense need to be 'normal' and belong to whatever is the current dominant socio-political group—which in this case is Fascism. Driven by ambition to rise in the party ranks, he becomes engaged to Giulia (Stefania Sandrelli), a petty bourgeoise bimbo who urges him, among other things, to go to Confession before their marriage. In the confessional, Marcello tells the priest about a major childhood sexual trauma in which he long believed (erroneously) that he had committed a murder.
The couple takes the train to Paris partly for their honeymoon, but also for Marcello to carry out an assignment from Il Duce’s secret police: to assassinate his former mentor, Professor Quadri (Enzo Terracio), an anti-Fascist living in exile in Paris. Once the couple arrives, they are greeted by the professor’s wife Anna, played by the striking French actress Dominique Sanda who later made “The Garden of the Finzi-Continis” so unforgettable. Anna seduces both the husband and wife in an effort to dissuade Marcello from carrying out his mission.
These are the barebones of the story. But what makes TC so classic is its fidelity to time and place. The film was photographed by Vittorio Storaro, who used rich colors, an authentic 1930s wardrobe of the 1930s, and a series of unusual camera angles and fluid camera movements. The hypnotic soundtrack by Georges Delerue sweetens the storytelling.
Bertolucci’s poetic gifts are clearly present in every scene, whether it’s the shopping spree in the Place Vendome, a car chase through the snow-covered Savoie Mountains in Italy, children taking a dance class in a ballet studio in Paris, or a bachelor party populated entirely by blind people. And what do you know, no CGI.
Trintignant (1930-2022) gives a taut, understated performance as Marcello. Clad in a Borsalino hat and an immaculately tailored suit, he is the epitome of the empty vessel, a weather vane poised to ride the political winds whichever way they are blowing. Dominique Sanda possesses cat-like eyes and walks like a tiger ready to pounce. Her lesbian tango scene with Giulia and her moments in the snowy forests of northern Italy are scenes for the ages.
Bertolucci went on in to direct the (overrated) Last Tango in Paris, as well as countless other films including 1900, The Last Emperor, and The Sheltering Sky. But nothing was the same after “The Conformist.” And nothing will ever be. Hollywood, step away from the IMAX.
I’ll have to rewatch “The Confirmist”. Your review presents intriguing insights. Since I watched 1900 at the now defunct Harvard Exit Theater in Seattle in the 70’s I have often thought about its presentation of the rise of fascism in Italy. A couple years ago I took advantage of a 40-hour bus trip deep into Mexico to watch the five-hour long director’s cut of that film greatly deepening my appreciation for Bertolucci.
Splendid review. I saw TC years ago but reading this makes me want to see it again. Thanks, as always.