Review of The Conformist (1971) by Stuart K — 05 Sep 2012

Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, who before this had done films such as Before the Revolution (1964) and The Spider's Stratagem (1970), as well as working with Sergio Leone on the screenplay for Once Upon A Time In The West (1968).

This film, based upon Alberto Moravia's 1951 novel, helped get Bertolucci recognised internationally, and it's a well made espionage thriller, with some moments of technical trickery that Hitchcock would have killed for.

Set in 1930's Europe, shortly before World War 2 happened. Marcello Clerici (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is preparing to get married to fiance Guilia (Stefania Sandrelli). But Marcello is plagued by memories from his childhood, including a homosexual encounter he had with Lino (Pierre Clà (C)menti).

But, Marcello is also working for the Fascist secret police, and one of his missions is to go to Paris to kill his old college professor Luca Quadri (Enzo Tarascio). After marrying Guilia, he takes her on a honey moon to Paris, using that as a cover for murdering Professor Quadri, however things get complicated when Marcello falls for Quadri's wife Anna (Dominique Sanda), who Marcello becomes obsessed with.

It's a great paranoid thriller, capturing the era well and Bertolucci keeps the mood up, clearly influenced by other Italian directors like Pasolini and Fellini. The real ace in the hole is the cinematography by Vittorio Storaro, which has brilliant, rich colour to it.

This is what got him the job on Apocalypse Now. For Bertolucci, Last Tango In Paris (1972) and 1900 (1976) were next.