It's easy to overlook how stark The Conformist's political and allegorical message is because it's just so damn beautiful.

It's yesteryear remembered with a combination of nostalgia and repulsion, a queasy combination that defines the film and gives it a kind of hideous allure.

The unsettling blend of images and ideas in this movie cannot satisfactorily be disentangled or decoded, and it's the very strangeness of Bertolucci's masterpiece that has made it so influential in cinema history.

…a classic tale of ‘slaughter and melancholy’ that feels more relevant in 2026 than ever…the literal smoke and mirrors look created by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro evokes a huge emotional range of images, from cold and clinical to warm and sensual…