The Conformist (Konformist)

The Conformist (Italian: Il conformista) is a 1970 political drama written and directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, adapted from Alberto Moravia's 1951 novel of the same name. An Italian-French-West German co-production, it premiered at the 20th Berlin International Film Festival.

In 1938 Rome, Marcello Clerici (Jean-Louis Trintignant) joins Mussolini's Fascist regime out of a desperate need to blend in and appear normal. While traveling to Paris on his honeymoon with his new wife Giulia (Stefania Sandrelli), he accepts an assignment for the regime: to track down and kill his former university professor, an anti-Fascist dissident living in exile. The mission grows complicated when Marcello becomes entangled with the professor's wife, Anna. Told through fragmented, subjective flashbacks, the story explores how childhood trauma drives the protagonist to erase himself within conformity, examining the psychological roots of fascism.

The film marked Bertolucci's first collaboration with cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, whose expressive lighting became one of its most celebrated elements. It won the David di Donatello for Best Film and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, and is often cited among the most influential films of its era.