I realized that three of my favorite films got something in common. Their protagonists dressed impeccable suits and wear hats too:J.J. Gittes in Chinatown(1974);Marcello in 8 ½(1962);and Marcello Clerici in Il Conformista(1971) also this actors seem to be in a kind of crossroad or in an emotional conflict , in appearance they look impassible.
Our man,Clerici( played masterly by J.L. Trintignant) is an elegant,attractive man.He is serious and reflexive.He wants to know the significance of normal/normality.He asked to his best friend,Italo(who is also gay and blind) Who is a normal man? "a normal man is one who turns his head to see a beautiful woman's bottom. The point is not just to turn your head. There are five or six reasons. And he is glad to find people who are like him, his equals. That's why he likes crowded beaches, football, the bar downtown-" Maybe we can find `normality' in disappointment or boredom.
Our man,the conflicted Marcello carries inside him a terrible guilt.Something he experienced during his childhood,a trauma always present in his mind(the audience are aware of this through flashbacks) Being an adult and Fascist in the tumultuous Europe of the 30s,Marcello has A STRANGE MISSION:To visit (in Paris) his former university professor, Quadry(who is an anti- fascist) and to be part of his murder/complot, but, is he capable to do that?.Besides this,Marcello has a relationship with two opposite woman;his child/woman wife,Giulia(Stefania Sandrelli)and Quadry's wife,Anna(Dominique Sanda,what a presence!)He feel in love with this sophisticated intimidating blond,"I'm hostile because I'm sincere"! Anna says to Marcello and she's right. I was impressed during the scene in that French forest covered with snow.Especially when the woman (she is outside) shout at Marcello(He is inside the car) through the car's window. He staring at her in shock. Then the persecution into the forest.Chilling!.
Vittorio Storaro Cinematography is superb.An example? Notice when Marcello enters the palace to see the Ministry.He walks up the stairs and his shadow's projection on the floor diminish.Or when Marcello is at Quadry office he argues Plato's Myth of the Cave,he closed one of the two windows,the room is half dark shadows on the wall appear but Quadry re-open the window and Marcello's shadow disappears almost as a ghost or illusion.
Note:Being an Actress should be as difficult as being an Astronaut.In this time anybody is a movie star.This film presents a example of how a true Actress should act or move:Dominique Sanda was not like today Movie Actresses(She had personality and sexuality at the same time) and we'll never see someone like her for a long time.
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