Bernardo Bertolucci’s Il Conformista is a visually stunning and psychologically complex exploration of conformity, morality, and the seductions of power. Jean-Louis Trintignant stars as Marcello, a man driven by a desperate need to fit in, who becomes entangled in Fascist Italy’s political machinery while tasked with assassinating his former professor. With cinematography by Vittorio Storaro, the film turns Rome and its surroundings into a meticulously composed landscape of light, shadow, and psychological tension. Bertolucci blends political critique, eroticism, and stylistic precision to examine the compromises and illusions that define both personal and collective identity. Il Conformista endures as a landmark of European cinema and a haunting study of complicity and desire.
