Vittorio De
Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (1948) is a
sad tale of one man’s quest to provide for his family. Despite being set in
post-World War II Rome and being shot in black and white, the film still has
plenty of themes modern audiences can identify with and will probably be able
to identify with for years to come. It doesn’t matter what country you live in
or what century it is, plenty of people can sympathize with a workingman trying
to make ends meet and trying to be a good man in the eyes of his son.
Like many people
my favourite Italian movies are Sergio Leone Westerns, but that doesn’t really
count since they are essentially American movies made by an Italian director.
When I watched Bicycle Thieves on
Netflix last fall I knew I wasn’t going to get a gun-toting Western or gangster
movie, but as fan of cinema in general I will watch anything. Plus having
travelled to Italy and taken a few Italian courses it’s always fun to watch an
Italian movie to practice the language. Turns out I am a bit rusty and still
needed the subtitles.
In a plot that
would decades later influence the much lighter Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, the film follows Antonio (Lamberto
Maggiorani) and his young son Bruno (Enzo Staiola) as they search Rome for his
stolen bicycle. This may seem like a trivial quest for anyone who can afford a
bike or even a car, but for Antonio it is a matter of keeping his job and food
on the table. He needs the bicycle for his job posting bills all over the city
and he already pawned a prized family possession to buy the bike in the first
place. No bike, no job, and no money for his wife and two kids. It is that
important.
When the bicycle
is stolen Antonio does what most people would do and tries to give chase, but
the annoying thief has an accomplice that helps him escape. The next step of
course is to tell the police who of course can’t do much to help him since
finding a stolen bicycle in Rome is like looking for needle in one big pile of
haystacks. Antonio’s friends help him by searching at a market where stolen
good are sold, but their efforts provide no results. However Antonio and Bruno
eventually spot the thief and give chase.
As the day goes
by and the thief proves elusive you feel their frustration build. The two of
them are doing everything right, but life just won’t give them a break. To take
a respite from the pursuit, Antonio decides to buy his son lunch at a restaurant,
but he can’t afford anything too expensive off the menu. The sight of a rich
family enjoying a much bigger meal does not boost his morale. The grass
definitely always looks greener on the other side of the fence.
As Antonio’s
desperation reaches its peak he decides to do the wrong thing and the look on
his son’s face when he is caught in the act speaks volumes. It is bad enough
Antonio finds himself in a position where he cannot provide for his family, but
his actions to solve the situation end up with his son ashamed of him. Amazingly
both Maggiorani and Staiola were untrained non-actors when the movie was shot,
which does add a dose of realism to the production.
Bicycle Thieves is the definition of what comes to mind when you hear
the words “foreign movie.” It is old, in black and white, sad, and requires
subtitles unless you speak the language. However the story in undeniably
touching and its focus on characters struggling to make ends meet easily gives
it its status as a classic for the ages.
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