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Bertolucci Time Conformista

Bertolucci Time Conformista
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Italian Cinema (ITA1113)

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Bertolucci 's The Conformist: A Study of the Flashbacks in the Narrative Strategy of the Film. P. M. KIDNEY

Da buon seguace della teoria dell' autore ritenevo che il montaggio non fosse che una logica conseguenza del modo di girare... (invece) ho capito che è un'altra scrittura, che si può montare un film anche contro il modo in cui si è girato, contro quello che si e' girato. —Bernardo Bertolucci Bcrtolucci's II conformista'^ (1970) is not just the cinematographic adaptation of Moravia's novcl (Bompiani, 1951)^ but a rewriting of that same text^ and the historical event upon which it is based: the June 1937 assassination of the Rosselli brothers by order of the Italian Foreign Office.'^

In his film version of the novel, Bertolucci abandons Moravia's chronologically developed narrative in favor of a discourse built on anachronous sequences, specifically flashbacks or analepses.^ This constitutes the fundamental change with respect to the novel and is also the key to the film's independence of it.

While the basic story remains unaltered in the text of the film, it is the discourse, 5^ the new textual arrangement of the plot, that gives rise to a psychological and highly subjective text. The new text is no longer presented through the "objective rational point of view of an omniscient narrator who controls the narrative," but through the point of view of the protagonist himself, Marcello Clerici. The point of view adopted by Bertolucci is thus internai and subjective, and expressed through the flashbacks. These portray the character's psychological state as a product of past events which are continuously present. They correspond to a narrative strategy aimed at creating a structure that encourages the lack of diffentiation between past and present, suggesting a Bergsonian concept of time as experienced duration in which the past is an integrai part of the present. The flashback structure also reinforces

the psychological nature of the character's entrapment in a system he himself has created and cannot escape.

The flashbacks function to increase the viewer's involvement, because s/he naturally seeks the reorganization of events presented initially without causai and chronological coherence. The viewer must rearrange the scenes mentally, according to a rational progression, in order to reconstruct the chronology of the narrative and the sequence of events which bave led to the protagonist's problematical situation. The final reorganization of ali events in their proper sequence can occur only at the end of the film when the action develops strictly in the present and is no longer interrupted by flashbacks. Some of the flashbacks, those that contain other flashbacks (flashbacks within flashbacks) present a special problem since the viewer must reconstruct not only the external, overall, chronological sequence of the flashbacks in real/historic terms but the internai chronological sequence of the flashbacks within flashbacks in order to establish the sequence of events. The complex structure of Bertolucci's film thus requires an active viewer, who unlike the reader of Moravia's linear text, is called upon to organize and interpret what s/he sees.^

Whereas Moravia's narrative begins with the description of Marcello as a child and then follows the character's development, Bertolucci's narrative begins in medias res in the Paris hotel room on the morning of the murder of Professor Quadri and bis wife. The first sequence takes place in the hotel room as Marcello prepares to go out, the second portrays Marcello as he leaves the hotel, and the third shows him getting into a car driven by special agent Manganiello,"^ Marcello's assistant. From this point on the narrative follows two lines: one chronological, a framing device for the narrative which represents the present (and is reinforced by a leitmotif), and another that depicts past events with the introduction of flashbacks.

Schematically, the narrative follows a linear progression associated with the car in which Marcello and Manganiello are riding, and which

within flashbacks (a device which is employed four times). In the second case the composite structure produces a mise-en-abìme effect that functions to confuse the chronological order of the events presented. The action in fact does not return to the present after each flashback to establish the distinction between the past and the present (as is customary), but continues instead with another flashback, creating internai relationships between various levels of time in the past. From one moment in time in the past the narrative moves either to another moment in time which is chronologically situateci in a more distant past with respect to the initial flashback sequence or closer to the present with respect to the preceding flashback, but stili in the past. As the number of flashbacks increases so does the number of internai relationships produced, since these are tied to the positioning of each event with respect to the other on an ideal chronological time-line. For example, in the second break in the linear development Bertolucci offers the Viewer a composite flashback which contains four distinct flashbacks. The first, fi, is a continuation of the first flashback in real/historic terms which portrays events at the radio station and to which I bave assigned the value fo. fi is followed by three other flashbacks (distinguished from each other by a film cut) in which the events offa occur in film time after f}. The last flashback in this sequence, (4, occurs in historic time after fi but in film time after fz- The sequence produced is thus: fi,f3,f2,f

In diagram form the analepsis breaks (by number) are as follows:

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9

car...car...car...car...car...car...car...car...car...car...car.. = Murder denou dénouement

fo fi f, fr, f7 f, f-4" f-." f-, fM

U f« f,, fu il f,o f- f4 f,} f- f. f-, f., f, fv f. (For individuai idcntifications of the flashbacks prcsented in this diagram see foomoie #8)

This use of a non-chronological ordering of the flashbacks is repeated in the internai structure of the 6th and lOth breaks in the narrative and in the external relationships between narrative breaks themselves when considering the chronological gap between breaks #6 and #7 and breaks #9 and #10. The most complex narrative break is the last one, break #10. In this composite flashback which, after four sequences of internai analepsis develops according to a chronological scheme, there is the greatest chronological gap between single flashbacks. The arrangement, repeated seven times, juxtaposes some of the earliest historical events of the narrative f-4, f-3, f-2, f-i and the most recent events expressed in flashback form fn, fu, fu, fi5 which are the scenes of Marcello's confession. This arrangement brings Marcello's past to bear as openly as possible on bis present situation and suggests the existence of an intimate relationship between past and present in which past events are not only not relegated to the memory of the past but play a vital role in shaping the present and are in fact part of it. It is important to note not only the duration of the confession flashbacks and the insistence upon the confession sequences themselves (presented four times in the film) but the importance the sequences acquirc due to their positioning in the narrative development. They immediately precede in fact

that intcrvene between one significant event and another do not necessarily bave to be accounted for in the viewer's mind as we accept (due to our own expericnce) the selective, sifting process of memory. (Lopez, p. 306) The sequence which I feel best demonstrates this concept occurs in breaks #7 and #8 which basically contain elements of the same flashback. In these two mini-flashbacks, f-4a and f-4b, which bave in fact minimal screen duration, Marcello, who has temporarily gotten out of the car which Manganiello is driving, recalls getting into Lino's car^ as a child. The recollection is triggered by the visual parallel offered by the car which Manganiello is now driving behind him and Marcello's own ambivalent feelings about wanting or not to get in. The abrupt cutting in these two flashback scenes and the minimal duration of the flashbacks themselves suggest not only Marcello's recollection of the events but bis re-experiencing of them as a déjà vu. The analepses are separated by an extremely brief period of story-time creating the overall effect of what Chatman calls "discontinuity between discourse-time and story-time" in which the former clearly dominates the latter, underscoring once again the lack of a rational chronological structure. The analepsis breaks with their internai and external non-linear structure, present Marcello's point of view on a narrative level. Nowhere is the break from Moravia 's story more evident in fact than in the murder scene. In Moravia's novel Marcello is not present at the scene but reads BERTOLUCCI ' S THE CONFORMISI 5 3 about it in the newspapers at the office. In Bertolucci 's film Marcello is present at the scene inside the car which has held him captive for most of the film and fi"om which he now does not emerge. While the murder scene is not shot completely fiom Marcello's point of view, that is, it is not shot strictly through "Marcello's eyes" with the camera at his eye level, the camera does focus on his eyes three times, suggesting that the scene is witnessed from his point of view which is, of course, the

point of view of the viewer as well.'° Shots of his eyes precede in fact the professor's getting out of his car to investigate what has happened to the driver in the car that is blocking the road, the arrivai of the fascists from behind the trees, and Anna's desperate cali for help outside his car window. Marcello's physical presence at the scene, his role as indirect participant," not just spectator, as evidenced especially in the shot in which Anna bangs on the car window and he fails to respond, increase the subjective presentation of the main event of the film. The murder scene, the climax of the film is important structurally because it signals the moment in which past and present coincide. It is the centrai scene of the film because the function of the narrative up to that point is to present the events and the reasons that have led Marcello to his involvement in the murder of Professor Quadri. Bertolucci's murder scene is a rewriting of the Moravia text not only because Marcello is at the scene and it is presented essentially from his point of view, but because the violence of the scene. Professor Quadri's lengthy and repeated stabbing and Anna Quadri's chase in the woods and eventual murder (with the shot that disfigures her beautiful face), reinscribe the politicai aspect of the historical account into the scene, which thus becomes as obvious indictment of fascism. Whereas in Moravia 's novel the narrative an ideological change that has shifted the emphasis from politicai history to psychological, sexual, and social questions, Bertolucci's film reintroduces the politicai question, thus integrating both texts and producing a third, highly subjective text. The film, as I have already suggested, is thus a rewriting of both the generally accepted historical "text" of the Rosselli murders (subtexti) and the Moravian text of Marcello Clerici (subtexta). Although Bertolucci introduces other elements such as the psychoanalytic code, '2 the fundamental change that he brings to the Moravia text is structural and it is a change that affects the entire narrative and the

1953).

  1. The story of Moravia's novel is closely related to the story of the Rosselli case. In the novel Moravia changes the historical events of the murder by introducing a husband-wife team (Professor Quadri and his wife Lina) in place of the Rosselli brothers BERTOLUCCI ' S THE CONFORMIST 5 5 and by concentrating not on them directly or on their murder, but on the person responsible for arranging it. The story of Marcello Clerici thus represents the fictional development of an implied text of the event, the story of the organizer of the crime.
  2. The well-known historical event, the Rosselli case, involved the June 1937 politicai assassination of Carlo and Nello Rosselli. See Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini' s Roman Empire (Middlesex: Penguin, 1976), p. 104.
  3. For a discussion oi analepsis see Seymour Chatman, Story and Discourse (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1978), p. 64, henceforth cited as Chatman. 5a. For a discussion of the difference between story and discourse see Chatman.
  4. For a discussion of the role of the active viewer in The Conformisi see Robert Philip Kolker, Bernardo Bertolucci {^q-w York: Oxford University Press, 1985), henceforth cited as Kolker.
  5. For a discussion of the changes that Bertolucci makes with regard to the names of the Moravia characters see T Kline, "The Unconformist: Bertolucci's The

Conformist" in Modem European Eilmmakers and the Art ofAdaptation, edited by Andrew Horton andjoan Magretta, (New York: Ungar, 1981), pp. lll-lòl , henceforth cited as Lopez. Kolker (p. 88) remarks upon the resemblance between Manganiello's name and the Italian word manganello, the club, symbol of the fascist squadristi diuà their punitive attacks without ever commenting, however, on the humorous effect produced. Even Giulia in the film comments on the comical character of the name: "Che nome buffo, Manganiello." Bertolucci's intent was clearly ironie and the choice of name appropriate for the character. 8. The flashbacks presented in this diagram can be identified as follows: fo Radio station visit with Italo Montanari fi Continuation of fo at radio station iz At the Minister's headquarters: "The Office of the Ministeri" i} Continuation of fi at radio station U Continuation offa at fascist HQ; Marcello is accompanied to the Minister {> Cemetery wall with names; Marcello with flowers on way to Giulia's fé Continuation of f^ f? At Giulia's for lunch fs Marcello and Manganiello at mother's house fg Continuation offa at mother's house fio Back from visit to asylum fu Asylum visit with father f-4 Shot of Lino's car from behind with child on side (part of f-4; to be a • ^^ repeated) f-4, "Stop!" by Marcello as a young boy (part of f-4; to be repeated) f-5 Children around Marcello on the ground f-4 Children around Marcello; continuation of f-5; Marcello gets up and gets

  1. Both in Moravia's novel and Bertolucci 's film Lino is the chauffeur who attempted to seduce Marcello and who Marcello believed he had killed.
  2. It is interesting to note that the point of view in Anna's murder is that of the fascists who are chasing her. The fascists however are not seen during the chase (which is filmed with a hand-held camera) thus forcing the viewer to assume the point of view of the fascists themselves.
  3. It must be remembered that although Marcello does not participate personally in the executions of Professor Quadri and Anna Quadri, he is responsible for setting up the murder of the Professor. Anna Quadri who was not supposed to be part of the murder had to be eliminated once she witnessed her husband's murder.
  4. For a discussion of the psychoanalytic code as it is used by Bertolucci in the film see Kline.
  5. In an interview with Enzo Ungati published in Scene madri di Bernardo Bertolucci, (Milano: Ubulibri, 1982), p. 73, Bertolucci states that he shot the film leaving open the possibility of ordering it in a chronological manner but that in the editing room he discovered the possibilities for the vertical development obtainable through montage. From the very beginning however he admits that he was fascinated with the idea of using the trip in the car as the "present" of the story, the container, while the protagonist traveled also in the past. (The translation is my own.) On the importance

of the montage and Bertolucci's collaboration with Kim Arcalli see Franca Faldini and Goffredo Fofi: Il cinema italiano d'oggi 1970-1984 raccontato dai suoi protagonisti (Milano: Mondadori, 1984), p. 143. The opening quote is taken from this source

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Bertolucci Time Conformista

Course: Italian Cinema (ITA1113)

50 Documents
Students shared 50 documents in this course

University: University of Ottawa

Was this document helpful?
1
Bertolucci 's The Conformist: A Study of the
Flashbacks in the Narrative Strategy of the Film.
P. M. KIDNEY
Da buon seguace della teoria dell' autore ritenevo che il montaggio non
fosse che una logica conseguenza del modo di girare. . . (invece) ho
capito
che è un'altra scrittura, che si può montare un film anche contro il modo
in cui si è girato, contro quello che si e' girato.
—Bernardo Bertolucci
Bcrtolucci's II conformista'^ (1970) is not just the cinematographic
adaptation of Moravia's novcl (Bompiani, 1951)^ but a rewriting of that
same text^ and the historical event upon which it is based: the June
1937 assassination of the Rosselli brothers by order of the Italian
Foreign Office.'^
In his film version of the novel, Bertolucci abandons Moravia's
chronologically developed narrative in favor of a discourse built on
anachronous sequences, specifically flashbacks or analepses.^ This
constitutes the fundamental change with respect to the novel and is also
the key to the film's independence of it.
While the basic story remains unaltered in the text of the film, it is
the discourse, 5^ the new textual arrangement of the plot, that gives rise
to a psychological and highly subjective text. The new text is no longer
presented through the "objective rational point of view of an omniscient
narrator who controls the narrative," but through the point of
view of the protagonist himself, Marcello Clerici. The point of view
adopted by Bertolucci is thus internai and subjective, and expressed
through the flashbacks. These portray the character's psychological state
as a product of past events which are continuously present. They
correspond to a narrative strategy aimed at creating a structure that
encourages the lack of diffentiation between past and present, suggesting
a Bergsonian concept of time as experienced duration in which the past
is an integrai part of the present. The flashback structure also reinforces

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