Archive: Winter 2005

The Conformist

Special Guest: Professor Alexander Gelly (CompLit) will introduce the film.

In his seminal film The Conformist, Bernardo Bertolucci peels away layer after layer in an attempt to get at the heart of the monster that was fascist Italy. The actions of the conformist in question, Marcello Clerici (Jean-Louis Trintingant), are woven into a larger web that examines the role of an individual within the broader framework of society. Moving between the sexual and the violent, the philosophical and political, Trintingant’s portrayal of Clerici as an opportunist filled with doubt is captured beautifully by Vittorio Storaro’s cinematography and a narrative structure that constantly creeps forward even when it moves backwards.

1970, Italy • 115 minutes • 35mm • in Italian with English subtitles • Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci