Themes
The film is a case study in the psychology of fascism: Marcello Clerici is a bureaucrat dehumanised by a dysfunctional upper class family and a childhood sexual trauma. He accepts an assignment from Benito Mussolini's secret police to assassinate his former mentor, living in exile in Paris. In Trintignant's characterization, Clerici is willing to sacrifice his values in the interests of building a so-called "normal life."
According to the political philosopher Takis Fotopoulos "The Conformist" (as well as "Rhinoceros" by Ionesco) is "a beautiful portrait of this psychological need to conform and be 'normal' at the social level, in general, and the political level, in particular."
Interiors, an online journal that is concerned with the relationship between architecture and film, released an issue that discussed how space is used in the scene in the film that takes place on the Palazzo die Congressi. The issue highlights the use of architecture in the film, pointing out that in order to understand the film itself, it’s essential to understand the history of the EUR district in Rome and its deep ties with fascism.
Read more about this topic: The Conformist (film)
Famous quotes containing the word themes:
“In economics, we borrowed from the Bourbons; in foreign policy, we drew on themes fashioned by the nomad warriors of the Eurasian steppes. In spiritual matters, we emulated the braying intolerance of our archenemies, the Shi’ite fundamentalists.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)
“I suppose you think that persons who are as old as your father and myself are always thinking about very grave things, but I know that we are meditating the same old themes that we did when we were ten years old, only we go more gravely about it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)