#63: The Conformist

The Conformist (Bertolucci, 1969)

I'm starting work on my Masters thesis, so these writeups are going to get a bit shorter if I'm going to keep writing them.

I'm not a fan of The Conformist. The main character works for the fascist government in Italy, and he's sent to assassinate some defectors in another country. He doesn't agree with fascism, but he follows it without question. Once fascism is over, he violently rallies against it. He's a man who just conforms; he never acts on his own opinions or morals. At one point he visits a priest and asks for forgiveness for a murder. When he was young, he was molested by a homosexual. The homosexual then asked him to kill him, and he did. The priest acted like the sodomy was a bigger sin than the murder. Then, when he learned he worked for the government, he forgave him immediately. The church also conforms to the fascist government, regardless of what it really feels. According to the movie, most of Italy were conformists, following fascism to protect themselves, then rallying against it once it ended.

Conceptually the movie is strong, but the script is pretty weak and very forced.

Rating: ** 1/2 / 5

75/101

Next: Raging Bull, La Strada