Load of rubbish!!

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Worst movie ever seen? Very time wasting. It took me whole day to watch this movie as this was very boring and there was nothing in it.

Films that double as if they are art on a canvas are some of the richest and most beautiful things that can come out of cinema, Il Conformista or The Conformist in English is exactly that. It not only has a very good story but in general looks stunning, the film is known for its camera angles but also its use of colour and the general production design that also catches the eye. From Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci comes this excellent piece and it is essential for any budding director or cinematographer that they witness the skill level put into this. The film is basically all about Fascism and shows a man sent on a mission to take out a former professor of his who is too anti-fascist for the regime of Italy in the 1930's. The film sounds much like a spy thriller and although in ways he is a spy, this is not all about exciting action, no this is dramatic and thrilling but does not require shootouts to entertain, it uses artistry, a solid script and characters who could be studied for many an hour.Marcello Clerici is the main person in this movie and is just as Fascist as your next Fascist, this man is willing to give things up to carry out the mission set out for him and important things that come his way in life do not stand a chance against his belief in normality and Fascism. The most intriguing character is for me not Clerici but the professor's wife Anna who is shrouded in mystery, we never truly know much about her but the way she is used in the story is fascinating. It uses many different people to get the story across whether within his friend, his Fascist overseer of sorts or his soon to be wife Giulia and that is really what makes this complex.It is impossible not to talk about the way this movie looks after you have seen it with Bertolucci and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro creating something truly remarkable and although this could easily be called pointless angles, they actually do convey emotion or set the tone of the scene that is at hand. This film could be also get called pretentious but really it is not, many a film can use artistic elements in a way which is begging for awards but this feels different though. It actually tells a story alongside the beauty on the technical side of things and Bertolucci makes full use of that to create an interesting but also good looking piece of cinema.As for the actors well it is of course Jean-Louis Trintignant as Clerici who is fantastic among all involved but do not take anything away from other cast. Stefania Sandrelli as Giulia is good and although at first can feel annoying starts to grow on you as the movie progresses and becomes a well worked character. I particularly liked the character of Manganiello played by Gastone Moschin who as the overseer I mentioned is just a great character and one that usually turns up in some major scenes of the film.So The Conformist, adapted from the 1951 novel of the same name and given an artistically wonderful showing on the big screen, having never read the novel at the time of viewing I cannot say whether it is a true adaption but it does not matter to me if a book is made a little differently on the big screen. Bertolucci nailed this one and this could be said to be his best ever work, what stops it from being perfect is maybe some parts of the beginning and it can have a slow pace at a few places but nevertheless this movie is excellent and one that is just a fine piece, finely done.

Bertolucci is my favorite director but I knew him mostly with romances. And now this movie totally blew my mind: I have to say that this is This is Bertolucci's one of the greatest works. He really went too serious lately. This movie shows him as fully developed director in both visual and metaphoric way to tell the story. The movie is an amazing work in all means of cinematography. The ending on fascism and homosexuality is certainly proof of a talented filmmaker.I was lucky enough to watch this film in a theater several weeks later after released. If you have the chance, don't miss the chance to see it on a big screen.

Some critics say this is an important, thought-provoking film. I guess they are right, because it provoked me to think about a question that has bothered me for some time: Why do I keep watching these dumb foreign films just because critics tell me they are important and thought provoking? As is typical for a dumb foreign film, there is a lot of decadent sex. For example, the protagonist figures his half-brother is giving their mother morphine and having sex with her, so he has a fellow fascist slap him around. And by George, that is the last we hear about that! I guess this is what foreign directors call "character development." If so, there is plenty more character development in this movie. Anyway, as the title indicates, the protagonist just wants to conform and be like everyone else. So I guess he figures a good way to conform is by being an assassin. And to have more character-developing sex.