The Conformist (1970)

An international art cinema success, Bernardo Bertolucci's The Conformist (1970) turned the more straightforward Alberto Moravia novel into an elliptically subjective story about the psychological birth of a 1930s Italian Fascist. To show how Clerici is driven and entrapped by a past sexual trauma, Bertolucci cuts from Clerici's journey to kill his radical former professor to flashbacks embedded within flashbacks of his childhood, his marriage to dull bourgeois bride Giulia, and his blind Fascist mentor. Renowned visual set pieces, such as Clerici's visit to the Fascist headquarters and Anna's and Giulia's sensual tango, underline the connection between sexual decadence and Clerici's repressive conformism. Vittorio Storaro's lush cinematography lends further insight into Clerici's disturbed psyche, particularly through the imprisoning bars cast by the shadows of the venetian blinds in Giulia's apartment, matching her striped dress. Criticized by some for promoting a psychological explanation of Fascism over cultural, historical, or ideological ones, The Conformist was nonetheless lauded for its influential visual brilliance and complex narrative artistry; Francis Ford Coppola paid direct homage with an image of blowing leaves in The Godfather, Part II (1974). The 5-minute "Dance of the Blind" sequence cut from the original American version was restored in the 1994 reissue. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide