The
New Italian Cinema
"The
different New Waves [in cinema] can be viewed as accompanying phenomena of
political events in different parts of the world in the sixties: the
anti-establishment revolt and the anti-war movements in the Western world, the
opposition toward bureaucratic dogmatism and Soviet hegemony in the countries of
Eastern Europe, the anti-colonial wars in the Third World. These and other
events created a specific atmosphere during the sixties - a decade of renewed
hopes for social change, for a 'better world"
M. L.
Mira
Liehm in ‘Passion and Defiance’ identifies four main features:
1.
‘A subjective approach that resulted from the denial of an objective reality
identified with the establishment.’
2.
‘The rejection of all closed plots.’
3.
‘The concept of the film structure as an expression of the film’s ideas.’
... the film ideology
is expressed through the film own “language”
4.
‘The rejection of the social and political status quo.’
The
Conformist - a perfect film of transition
A superbly crafted film in which the various themes are beautifully intertwined. The flow of the narrative: 'stream of consciousness'
·
How does B. mirror the climate and mood
of the times in Italy/Europe?
'Cinematic'
dimension and the film (with
particular reference to the New Italian Cinema
·
Why has
Bertolucci chosen the 'fatal car journey' as the pivotal axis of the film
narrative?
THEMES
‘The
Conformist is a film on the present - ‘I want to make the public leave with a
sense of malaise, perhaps feeling the presence of something obscurely sinister,
[...] I want them to realize that however the world has changed, feelings have
remained the same.’ (B.
Bertolucci