The Conformist

Director Paul Schrader counts Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Conformist as one of the greatest and most inspiring films he has seen. In fact, he states that he always re-watches it before starting a new film and I can see why he says that. It is an amazing spectacle of cinematography with really experimental editing, camera angles, light and dark, colors, and dramatic use of locations, actors, costumes, and props. It is also another film, like L’Avventura that is something of a political allegory, in this case, of the Italian people who fell under the spell of fascism with Mussolini. But it is also a kind of fantastical story that operates beyond realism by using the light, symbols, and other elements to create an other worldly like quality of tone through out the film. The 2006 version I saw is an extended version with a formerly cut scene added and three special features that give insight into the film: The Rise of the Conformist: The Story, The Cast, Shadow and Light: Filming The Conformist, The Conformist: Breaking New Ground.