BICYCLE THIEVES (LADRI DI BICICLETTE)

 

BICYCLE THIEVES (LADRI DI BICICLETTE) is a 1948 Italian drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica, is summarized by Millicent Marcus as “Man’s bike stolen on first day back to work after two years’ unemployment. Bike prerequisite to job.” Visconti (director of Obsession) made changes such as tailoring the script to its Italian setting and adding a character, but the main departure from the novel and the defining characteristic of the film is the manner in which it confronts the realities of life. In one particular scene in Obsession(1943), that shows a major theme of neorealism, the central female character enters her messy kitchen, dishes herself a bowl of soup and sits down with a newspaper, only to fall asleep, slumped over. Neorealism was decidedly national in focus, taking as its subject the day-to-day reality of a country traumatized by political change and war. Neorealist films often took a highly critical view of Italian society and focused attention upon social problems, such as the effects of the Resistance and the war, postwar poverty, and unemployment. This movie is a neorealism genre. Neorealism is a movement or school in art or philosophy representing a modified form of ‘the new real’. A movement in Italian literature and cinema that emerged in the 1940s. Italian Neorealism was a brief but hugely influential in film, lasting from the end of World War II until 1951. Neorealism originated from the writings of a particular circle of film critics who rebelled against the prevailing Italian film industry under Mussolini.

A major feature of Neorealism is the use of nonprofessionals, even in leading roles. For the adult ‘star’ of Bicycle Thieves, De Sica chose a factory worker, Lamberto Maggiorani instead of Hollywood star Cary Grant. This distinction between Hollywood ‘star’ and the ‘real people’ used in neorealist films is shown to great effect when Ricci is told to avoid putting creases in a poster of Rita Hayworth that real people, unlike Hollywood stars have wrinkles. In addition, Antonio walks into a church during a service with his son Bruno. He begins speaking with an older man whom is involved and refuses to give Ricci any information although he is obviously in need of help. Technically, if one is attending church, they are trying to become better people, improving in honesty and helping others. This is quite contrary to this old man’s nature as he does nothing to help Antonio. This double standard emphasizes the negative light portrayed on religion by De Sica. By demonstrating that even those who attend church are fake and dishonest, it reflects badly on the institution itself because those are the members that make up the church. Besides, Neorealist films differ from their Hollywood counterparts in terms of their lack of a happy ending or a resolution of any kind that a form of what might be called epistemic ambiguity that evident in the final scene from Bicycle Thieves. If Realist films offer us a window on a small portion of the world then we cannot ever hope for the omniscience that Hollywood offers us over their creation. In Neorealist films, as in life, sometimes there are no answers.

The synopsis of this film is Ricci is living in post War II Rome and is looking for a job to support his wife and two children. He finds a job hanging up posters around Rome but needs a bicycle in order to keep the job. One day, his bicycle gets stolen. He looks for it but never finds it until one day when he sees the thief walking with it. He tries to get it back but the police have no way of proving it was his. He attempts to steal one so he can get his job back but gets caught.

  BICYCLE THIEVES (LADRI DI BICICLETTE) is a classic example of Italian Neo-Realism. This film is used the long static shots that allow the viewer to see the impact of the time period on the whole community instead of just the main character. The lack of camera intervention is allowing the camera to be static while characters are having a conversation. There also used wider angles that this allows for the viewer to see more of the characters’ surroundings and their state of being.

In summary, the theme and idea of this film are rich and poor, irony, love of a father and a son, and no matter what changes throughout the story the characters will always have chemistry. Ten portrays bonds that are formed throughout the story and how nothing can alter it. The struggles of a man who is trying to support his family which many people in the time could relate to because of the bad economy. The visual style that I recommend is the style-less style of the film gives it a documentary feel, and gives us a slice of real life. It depicts the darker corners of Rome, documenting the urban poverty experienced by many at the time. This makes the film feel nonfictional as the narrative is simple but plausible.