Yesterday was an early present to myself, delivering on my promise to catch at least one Bertolucci and Chaplin screening running at Lightbox. Of the two, Bertolucci was the must-see and Chaplin a guilty indulgence so it didn't matter which of his silents was available. What was non-negotiable was 'IL Conformista', sucker punched ever since I laid eyes on the 'still' advertising the Bertolucci program from '180', the TIFF magazine. Bertolucci, "Fascists and F**king" his trademarks but what burrowed deep within my skin was the colour, described as lush.
This whole 'film' thing I am going through is about my late life attempt to understand what it is exactly that fascinates me in the movie genre. I have diligently made a list of the films I must see that are important to the age and the process. What I take away from each screening differs widely from critic's reviews largely because I don't possess the skills to properly analyze the packaged product, left instead to interpret along the lines of what moved me or simply caught my eye and on occasion lucky enough to 'get' that there is a deeper meaning and even more rarely actually figuring out what that meaning was. Symbols are like that, not always labeled beacons. 'Il Conformista' was like that.
As I have stated before foreign language films force you to comprehend the film largely on the strength of images so this screening was a match made in heaven for me. One of my first observations was how minimalist the dialogue was; I would guess that since Bertolucci wrote the screenplay (which was an adaptation from a novel) that this was closer to a shooting script. At one point I even questioned whether there was more talking in 'The Gold Rush' which of course is silent. 'IL Conformista' illustrates what would be Bertolucci's apparent style and later signature. It reminded me of Fellini and Godard; Fellini for the Freudian overtones and Jean Luc for the choppy scenes. That it is a story told in flashbacks adds to both components.
The big deal was the colour and the use of light and shadows. Beautiful and exquisite I also wondered if the lushness had anything to do with the use of filters. The feel is familiar both for the roots in the story telling and for the style and fashion of the period. If you have seen either the film 'Reds' or 'Apocalypse Now' you would feel at home since 'Il Conformista' is done by the same cinematographer, Vittorio Storaro. Cinematically, it is close to perfect. His style is refined with age, both Storaro and Bertolucci were 30 when this was released. Their age was something I had to know and it is further proof of the possible truth that we are fascinated most by the decade preceding the one we ourselves were born in. 'Il Conformista' is grounded in the thirties of Italy and by extension France and Germany.
Another 'age' aspect that fascinates me is the actors. The dark haired Italian beauty 'Giulia' is played by Stefania Sandrelli who would have been 23 when this was made and the blond seductress 'Anna' is an unbelievable 19 year old Dominique Sanda. Remarkable not so much their performance but their poise and credibility continues to shame most modern attempts at film. Did I mention this was released in 1970? It hardly seems possible but also explains why this was evidently fresh in Coppola's mind when making 'The Godfather'.
'Giulia' is described as a 'Kitchen and Bed' wife which you come to understand but also stands in large contrast to the pavilion dance scene which is the show stopper. It is fitting that the '180' still used is from this suggesting the power of colour and politics that marks this film. I consider myself lucky that YOUTUBE has a clip which I have included with a scene from near the beginning when we are introduced to the soon, bride-to-be. Stunning.
Giulia
Dance Scene
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