Marcello (Jean-Louis Trintgnant), the troubled protagonist of this this visually and sonically striking political drama written and directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, is an agent of the “Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism” in Mussolini’s Italy. He has been assigned to assassinate his own former college professor, an anti-fascist living in exile in Paris. His plot is complicated as he becomes enamored with the professor’s young wife Anna (Dominique Sanda), pursuing her even as he attempts to complete his mission. Based on Alberto Moravia’s 1951 novel of the same name, this flashback-laden reconstruction of the psychoanalytical tensions that cause an individual to embrace fascism is also one of the most visually stunning films ever made (shot by Vittorio Storaro and designed by Ferdinando Scarfiotti). 117 min.
Part of the Emory Cinematheque series “Resisting Fascism.” Each film in the series will be introduced by Paul Buchholz, assistant professor of German Studies, with contributions from other faculty in Emory’s Department of German Studies.
