Review of The Conformist (1971) by Sheldon C — 08 Aug 2011
I think the greatest achievement of the Conformist is how it balances art film structure with commercial material. Marcello is a sort of James Bond honeymooning in Paris to locate a Fascist agitator. The back story is poetically revealed in a bold nonlinear fashion that on a first viewing can be confusing.
The cinematography is of course top-notch. Bertolucci did choose some strange moments for humor. At times performances borderline on comic characterization considering this was made in 1970. Another unforgiveable flaw would be the terribly fake depiction of Annaâ(TM)s murder.
I think what I appreciated most was the character and story created in Moraviaâ(TM)s novel. The story is at once a sort of symbolic satire of Fascism as well as an original take on the espionage genre.
Iâ(TM)d love to see a James Bond film be so bold.
This review of The Conformist (1971) was written by Sheldon C on 08 Aug 2011.
The Conformist has generally received very positive reviews.
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