197: Bicycle Thieves

 Ladri di biciclette

IT  89m  Dir: Vittorio De Sica

Original Screenplay

Bicycle Thieves was the real masterpiece of the Italian neo-realist movement. The movement was an intentional move away from the 'white telephone' films that Italy had mostly been making- depicting rich people who had white telephones and promoting fascist politics. It was also different from Hollywood films which were much more interested in plot. 

In post-war Rome, Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani) desperately needs works in order to support his wife and child. He is delighted when he gets a good job putting up posters but on his first day his bicycle, a requisite of the job, is stolen. Antonio then scours the streets of Rome for his bicycle, accompanied by his son Bruno (Enzo Staiola). 

The film is essentially a snapshot of Italian life at the time, especially working-class life. It's largely shot on location adding to the realism and most of the film is just Antonio wandering around looking for his bike or a person connected to it. We see several markets, a church, a brothel and the exterior of a football stadium. The film almost feels like a fly-on-the-wall documentary with a loose plot. 

At the centre of this film is the relationship between Antonio and his son Bruno. Both actors were not professional- Maggiorani was a factory worker who had a similar life story to Antonio of constantly trying to earn enough money to get by and Enzo Staiola was spotted watching location filming. Despite not being professionals, the pair give us a very convincing relationship. Bruno is given more credit than most child characters of the 40s- he is a real expert in bikes and various other things and Antonio often asks him for information. The relationship feels very real and develops throughout the film with moments of conflict and brief moments of joy. 

There's a great ending as Antonio, filled with hopelessness, decides to attempt to steal a bicycle himself. Maggiorani displays the doubt in the character superbly and it all leads to a final shot which really pulls at the heartstrings. 

For a film that is often described as socialist and clearly highlights the difficulties of working-class life, it does not attempt to provide any answers. This isn't an essay looking for solutions, it's simply a snapshot of reality. 

Bicycle Thieves is one of those films that genuinely changed cinema and inspired countless filmmakers. It showed them that one of the things cinema could do was to show the reality of life and it does so superbly.