Il Conformista (The Conformist)
With its numerous allusions to Plato's "The Republic" and other well-regarded philosophies of abstract thought, "Il Conformista (The Conformist)" makes a strong case that it's as much a philosophical thriller as a political thriller.But Bernardo Bertolucci's 1970 adaptation of the Alberto Moravia novel feels a little dated, and a few aspects of the film come off as campy.
Still, the headier aspects and New Wave stylings do make it worthwhile. And this re-issue of the film does contain a scene that was cut from its original U.S. theatrical release.
The title character is Marcello Clerici (veteran French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant), a spy for Italy's fascist government (one of the many things that marks the film as a period piece).
Marcello is about to marry the sweet but dim socialite Giulia (Stefania Sandrelli), but uses a holiday trip with her as a cover for another assignment — to get information from Professor Quadri (Enzo Tarascio), a former instructor who's become a dissident.
Instead, however, Marcello becomes obsessed with the professor's much younger wife, Anna (Dominique Sanda), who is naturally skeptical about his motives.
Bertolucci has changed a few things about the source material. He also tries to flesh out Marcello's character by throwing in flashbacks of a shameful incident in his past (involving sexual abuse by an older man).
"Il Conformista (The Conformist)" is rated R for some strong scenes of violence (including stabbings and shootings), brief female and partial male nudity, simulated sex and other sexual contact (straight and gay), scattered use of profanity, some drug content (mostly references to prescription drug abuse), vulgarity, brief gore, and use of a few ethnic slurs. Running time: 120 minutes.
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