Il conformista (The Conformist) poster & wallpaper
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Jean-Louis Trintignant, Dominique Sanda, Pierre Clémenti, Stefania Sandrelli, Gastone Moschin ... see more see more... , Pasquale Fortunato , Enzo Tarascio , José Quaglio , Milly , Yvonne Sanson , Fosco Giachetti , Benedetto Benedetti , Giuseppe Addobbati , Christian Alegny , Orso Maria Guerrini , Alessandro Haber , Gio Vagni Luca , Antonio Maestri , Luciano Rossi , Massimo Sarchielli , Luigi Antonio Guerra

The conformist is 1930s Italian Marcello Clerici (Jean-Louis Trintignant), a coward who has spent his life accommodating others so that he can "belong." Marcello agrees to kill a political refugee, on... read more read more... orders from the Fascist government, even though the victim-to-be is his college mentor. The film is a character study of the kind of person who willingly "conforms" to the ideological fashions of his day. In this case, director Bernardo Bertolucci suggests that Marcello's desire to conform is rooted in his latent homosexuality. In addition to its strong storyline, the film is critically revered for the astonishing production design by Nedo Azzini, which, together with Vittorio Storaro's camerawork, recreates the atmosphere of Fascist Italy with some of the most complex visual compositions ever seen on film, filled with highly stylized uses of angles, shapes, and shadows. The Conformist was cut by five crucial minutes when first released in the US; those missing moments were restored in the 1994 reissue. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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91% liked it

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100% liked it

43 critics

R, 1 hr. 55 min.

Directed by: Bernardo Bertolucci

Release Date: October 22, 1970

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DVD Release Date: December 5, 2006

Stats: 645 reviews

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Trintignant as Marcello Clerici Bertolucci 1970 Clerici in the car Il conformista (The Conformist) Il conformista (The Conformist)
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Flixster Reviews (645)

  • axadntpron
    September 22, 2011
    axadntpron
    Appreciate it more than I enjoyed watching it. Beautifully shot, incredibly insightful, often boring.
  • ceWEBrity
    April 24, 2010
    ceWEBrity
    A fine movie, but dry and difficult to relate to. I can't imagine many people calling this a favorite. I have a great deal of respect for its craftsmanship, above all, most notably because the filming is beyond gorgeous. Vittorio Storaro, cinematographer extraordinaire and thrice... read more-over Oscar winner, creates a film that looks insular and harsh even when the environment itself is enticing. A jovial dance scene turns into a cruel, claustrophobic show of mockery for our main character; a beautiful snow-covered forest becomes a scene of carnage and despair. The film is bleak and mundane, probably in keeping with its Fascist parallels, which strengthens the thematic link to its detached protagonist Marcello. He's unusual for his primary goal, which is to assimilate into the rest of Italian society and be completely forgotten. Along the way he somehow determines that the best way to do this is to become a low-grade Mussolini hitman, subsequently tasked with putting together a hit on his old college professor. Marcello becomes stranger still when you take his back story into consideration - he was molested as a child, a likely cause of his burning desire to be normal, and creating an unusual sexual ambiguity that adds weight to the ending. His loyal, oblivious wife was also taken advantage of by a much older man, and it's at this point you realize that the fact that they're both card-carrying Fascists is no coincidence. The notion of wanting to find your identity by shedding it completely is somewhat unnerving, and clearly the film's strength, because what still stands as a strong theme now must have been revolutionary in 1970. It's a little easy to kick the dead Fascist horse forty years after the fact, but so be it.
  • SirPant
    February 10, 2010
    SirPant
    Visually, Il conformista has to be one of the most beautiful films ever made, each frame is like a renascence painting and it's easy to see its influence on modern cinema. Luckily the rest is as good. Stuffed to the rafters with symbolism, this film really does need repeat viewin... read moreg but never becomes tiresome in doing so. Sex, sexuality, politics, violence, it's all here in raw glory, an attack on fascism as powerful as Salo, just a little more easy to watch. Highly recommended!
  • bookmunki
    January 24, 2010
    bookmunki
    A visually stunning, subjective, psychological study of one man's pursuit of 'normalcy.' The plot is non-linear and revealed through a multilayered series of flashbacks. The portrait is rich with scenes of entrapment, Freudian undertones, and homosexuality. Dominique Sarda sizz... read moreles as the lesbian wife of the professor. The cinemetography is masterful. This is a film that withstands, and may require, repeated viewings to absorb its complexities.
  • flixsterman
    June 15, 2009
    flixsterman
    The 'look' of Bertolucci's Conformist is stunning. The locations, the lighting, the overall cinematography - just beautiful. Having given that quarter, I have to say that this wouldn't rank among my top 100 films. Much like the hitman's limp commitment to his cause, I f... read moreound myself disconnected and indifferent to his circumstance. After all, what does he really accomplish? And why should I care?

    Look, this is a milestone film and I applaud Bertolucci for it's inception and presentation, but I still feel that he has at least two films that outshine this one. Simply a good motion picture that's a tad over-rated.
  • pier007
    June 6, 2009
    pier007
    The story of a man who shook hands with the devil in his despair of trying to run away from his true self at any cost. but when his loyalty is put to the test his conscience and ideals, or the lack of them, will shatter him little by little.
    Conspicuous, sultry and aesthetically ... read moreimpressive.
  • rubystevens
    September 29, 2008
    rubystevens
    a stunning looking complex character study of a weak man with issues who just wants to appear 'normal' and so becomes a fascist. his loyalty is put to the test when he is ordered to kill his former teacher, a dissident exile in france. this was a dubbed version which annoyed me... read more, however it didn't affect the gorgeous cinematography of vittorio storaro. i think i prolly need to watch it again to fully appreciate.
  • vierasesine
    September 29, 2008
    vierasesine
    An intriguing character study that leaves you wondering even long after the film is over. The non-linear story-telling may be slightly jarring or confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, the story opens up before you quite nicely.

    I think the use of Trio Lescano was ... read morepretty brilliant, not only because they were highly popular at that time, but also because their popularity declined and ended just as quickly as it has started when the fascists suddenly accused them of incorporating hidden messages to the enemy into their songs.
  • ebs90
    May 4, 2008
    ebs90
    I fixed this review because the previous one didn't really say anything elightening. First, I've though it over and concluded that this might be one of the best films I've ever seen, on many levels. The story is extremely ambiguous, but I'll take a shot at explaining: Marcello is... read more a hired assassin, working for the Fascist regime. All his life he has struggled with the memories of his childhood, memories that set him apart from the others, that make him different. In a desperate attempt to become accepted by society, to become like all the others, he marries the lovely but mediocre, plain, and predictable woman played by Stefania Sandrelli. But then something very bad happens: he is assigned a job during his honeymoon in Paris that will make him come face to face with his principles, his desires, and whether his need to "fit in" can outweight all else.

    The cinematography/art direction is incredible. I could not take my eyes off the screen. I even watched the Art Director's commentary, because I was so impressed by this movie's beauty. The performances are very good too, especially Jean Louis Trintignant, a morally wounded soldier somehow marching out of time. He is haunting and complex as Marcello. It is truly one of the most memorable performances I have ever seen on film. Really a must-see of Italian cinema, possibly one of Bertollucci's best. Strikes the perfect balance between substance and style.
  • harrycaul
    September 20, 2007
    harrycaul
    It's a scandal that this isn't out on DVD in the UK. Bertolucci's masterpiece, beautifully shot by Vittorio Storaro.

View All Il conformista (The Conformist) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
December 7, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Ravishing to the eye but less than fully satisfying to the mind. Full Review

Stephen Hunter
September 7, 2006
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

The movie is pure magic as story, as drama, as photography, as conviction, as everything except its ideas. Full Review

Kevin Thomas
November 28, 2005
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

... seems every bit the masterpiece it was when first released by Paramount. Full Review

Steven Rea
September 22, 2005
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

As striking as Bertolucci's classic looks, there's even more powerful stuff in the storytelling.

Michael Atkinson
July 26, 2005
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

An eye-watering testimony to the erstwhile dash of international cinema. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

There are excesses in the film, but they are balanced by scenes of such unusual beauty and vitality that I couldn't care less. Full Review

Hal Hinson
January 1, 2000
Hal Hinson, Washington Post

The brilliant mix of ideas, the audacity and originality of approach, the sensualist delight in the ravishing play of light and shadow -- all these remain, as bracing and inspirational as ever. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Storaro and Bertolucci have fashioned a visual masterpiece in The Conformist, with some of the best use of light and shadow ever in a motion picture. Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

More like a symphonic poem than a movie. Your breath is taken away by its baroque compositions. Full Review

Ken Hanke
January 20, 2011
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Few films really deserve the term 'masterpiece,' but this one does. Full Review

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