Review of The Conformist (1971) by Will W — 08 Oct 2010
I saw this film for the first time at the BFI in London. Wow this film blew me away. The first thing I noticed was Bertolucci's use of light in the first scene were Marcello walks out of the hotel.
It reminded me of Kubricks use of natural light in his films like Clockwork Orange. Trintignant performance as Marcello was impeccable. The point were you really realise his cowardliness in the scene in the forest were the professor and his wife are murdered is a stand out scene.
I also notice Bertolucci's love for interiors. The 'two shots' he uses to frame and compartmentalise the characters is beautifully done. I cant stand when directors pan to much and not for good enough reason but Bertolucci's panning just adds to the operatic flow of the whole film and just gives it a great sense of fluidity and rhythm.
The backdrop of fascism in Italy and France stop it from becoming just another spy/espionage film. All in all just a great film and could go on all day about it.
This review of The Conformist (1971) was written by Will W on 08 Oct 2010.
The Conformist has generally received very positive reviews.
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