Bicycle Thieves

Ladri di biciclette or Bicycle Thieves is an Italian drama film released in 1948.  Directed by Vittorio De Sica, a leading figure in Italian neorealist cinema, this movie starts Lamberto Maggiorani and Enzo Staiola. It is regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. In 1952, Sight & Sound magazine ranked it as the best film of all time. This critically acclaimed film became a solid reference point whenever Italian neorealism cinema is discussed.

Italian neorealism is a film movement that is started after World War 2. Prior to this Italian cinema under the iron fist of dictator Benito Mussolini, was used mainly as a propaganda tool. He used newsreels and documentaries to “educated” Italians on what he wanted them to know. He set up studios and doubled productions to meet his demands. Due to the aftermath of the war, economic stability of the nation was highly precarious. Film makers decided different approaches which challenged conventional film making styles. Cesare Zavattini, said to be the father of Italian neorealism, started to reject planned stories and plots and wanted to focus on more real aspects of human life. He even rejected the use of actors and instead opted to use everyday people to tell the story because according to him, the actors perpetuated the false narratives and plotlines of a story.  Zavattini was very keen on reflecting the world of today in film. These ideologies soon grew popular and thus began the film movement that is Italian neorealism with its first movie Rome, Open City.  

There are many common tropes or aspects that are used or emphasized on in Italian neorealism. It is usually shot on location and in the post war façade of the ruined buildings. The technical aspects of the film are the fact they use grainy stock film and record the available sound in the environment to be used in the film. Thematically,  Italian neorealistic film, features the current contemporary national experience that was being faced by the Italians at that time. It tends to have a very human view on everyday problems. Poverty and unemployment which was the common plight shared by many Italians due to the spoils of war which left the local economy very hurt and crippled. Melodrama was a heavily recurrent tone and this was used to accentuate the need to rebuild the national reputation because Italy sided with the Nazis during World War. These pessimistic views in films grew unpopular as peoples’ fortunes picked up and movies didn’t reflect society as well as it used to.

The Bicycle Thieves, tells the story of  Antonio Ricci, a poor labourer who just got a job that can be the salvation for his family. Unfortunately he needs his pawned bicycle to qualify for the job and his wife helps him get back the bicycle from the pawnbroker. Equipped with the bicycle and a renewed sense of  hope he begins his first day on the job. But much to his dismay, his bicycle is stolen and he then begins on a quest with his young son to recover his family’s only hope. In this journey his morals become increasing blur as he resorts to violence and harshness way. The movie concludes as his attempt to steal another person’s bicycle is thwarted and he is left to ponder his actions.

Bicycle thieves, is a movie that features the struggle of the working class people. Unemployment is a prevalent theme in this movie. This was shown in the start scene where there were hordes of unemployed people who were waiting for jobs impatiently. Post war devastation was felt heavily by Italy. Economically struggling, and ridden with poverty was something every Italian was going through at that time. This movie, reflected heavily this social identity and national experience that was faced by Italians. Besides that, it was also evident that the film was filmed around the post war ruins what were left. The buildings in this movie can be seen as damaged or new signifying that they were damaged and being rebuilt. The sound used in this movie is recorded ambient sound that was available. For example you could hear the sound of cheering football fans, car horns, and busy traffic which were not planned and not produced by foley artists or the like. Above all the film was filmed with realism in mind, hence that’s why unprofessional actors was employed. None of the actors in the movie were professional full-time actors. In fact the main actor Lamberto Maggiorani, for example, was a factory worker in real life. The overall tone of the movie was melodramatic as expected from moives belonging to this movement. The melodrama was best highlighted by the film in the way it portrayed the loss of a bicycle. To most people it can be seen as a normal misfortune that will not be the end of the world but in this movie it’s otherwise. The bicycle was central to the plot and the loss was treated as a calamity. Without the bicycle, Antonio Ricci’s family would succumb to their poverty. The distraught experienced by the family has heavy elements of melodrama in it.

All in all, Bicycle Thieves is a great example of the movies produced during the Italian Neorealism movement. It is a testament to the film makers’ voice that has stood the tests of time that allow us to enjoy and get a glimpse into the lives of people who came before. Films like Bicycle Thieves paved the way for more real stories of people to be told in film.