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It’s good to know that true artists like De Sica exist, as only a true artist would have turned down Hollywood money and Cary Grant in order to pursue his true vision for a seminal work of Italian cinema, BICYCLE THIEVES. We all love us some Cary Grant, but that movie wouldn’t be the important film that it is without a cast of unknowns. The effects of the films made by guys like De Sica and Roberto Rosselini are still being felt in cinema today, making this one essential viewing.

The Bicycle Thieves is considered to be Vittorio De Sica’s magnum opus, which alone deserves some merit, judging how his other films, like Shoeshine and Umberto D., are just as good. The Bicycle Thieves came out in the middle of the Italian neorealism movement, but many film critics, such as Andre Bazin, considered it to be in its waning days. Regardless, this film is all encompassing, a humanist tale that people of any age could love, and an important film that more than earns its place in film history.

The plot is simple: a man has his bike stolen. That’s it. Sure there are other factors one could add in, like how his bike is his only means of transportation, how his bike stands for freedom and the welfare of his family rests on that job, and without the bike he’s back to nothing. De Sica makes it work, a premise that would be considered a sentence fragment, and turns it into a marvellous tour de force through post WWII Italy. This is neorealism at its best. Forget Rome, Open City. Forget La Terre Trema. Forget La Strada. Bicycle Thieves is the cream of the neorealist crop.

We see stark black and white photography here, which gives it a very documentary feel, a look at a lower class man’s struggle to find his precious bike. He is accompanied by his son, a symbol of purity and innocence, and the two walk throughout parts of Rome in desperate search. Through the use of cinema verite and the brilliant idea to cast unknown actors and actresses (none of these people had acted prior to this film. The wife, for instance, was a journalist) De Sica manages to capture this aura, creating a story as real as anything. No studio sets are used here, just wide, open shots of depression-era Rome. Common with many Italian films of this time, no sound was recorded (it’s all dubbed after principal photography), which gave De Sica and cinematographer Carlo Montuori the freedom to shoot extremely long shots of the vast landscape that contains this holy grail of a bike.

We see the husband look for help in many places: the police, a Communist organization, the church and even a fortune teller, but all lead to no avail. Aside from a few friends and his son (the only one who actually sticks around), the man is all by himself in this search. Just watching him walk around with his son could be a film in itself, it serves as a great example of a father-son relationship. It’s interesting how they renamed the film from “The Bicycle Thief” to “The Bicycle Thieves.” This is just foreshadowing what’s to come, as society can corrupt and tear apart even the most moral of men. The Bicycle Thieves is a rich, rich film with much to come away with, and can provide conversation for hours. Minimalism at its best.

A brilliantly portrayed image of life in postwar Italy. Antonio Ricci’s job, future, and stability rest in the spokes of his precious bicycle, which is stolen shortly into the movie. With the stealing of his bicycle, Ricci loses the hope for his family’s survival in a bleak society where jobs are scarce and the need is towering. Ricci’s and his son’s despairing expressions coupled with Cicognini’s score deliver a film so deeply heartbreaking it stays with you long after the credits end. A Criterion neorealist classic.

A masterpiece of neorealism, the film tells the story of Antonio, an unemployed labourer struggling to support his family in depressing poverty-stricken post WWII Italy. After getting a job posting flyers, he finds he needs a bicycle to perform the job, for which his wife sells the wedding sheets. The bicycle is subsequently stolen, and Antonio and his young son Bruno go on a desperate search to retrieve the bike and save his job. It’s as shatteringly relevant today as it was then; a tale of the frustration and isolation of the little guy as he struggles simply to makes his way through life, which seems to conspire to grind him down and strip him of his dignity.

Hard times after a major war- De Sica and the neo-realists had great motivation and material. Everyone is on edge and hates to be accused of being a thief. Some have given everything they can and made sacrifices to improve their family’s life. Most people probably cannot imagine what they would do if a tragedy occurred and desperation set in within this environment. The church and fortune tellers cannot really help with the practical matters of life, and police may try to help keep the peace but they can only do so much. So you can only count on yourself and still you may fail. Yes, that’s lonely and isolating, but you are the one who has to search and put one foot in front of the other on the journey. Hopefully there will be someone (like Bruno) by your side when you need them.

My favourite scenes from this Vittorio De Sica film include one shot at the eatery where the father is telling his son about the plans he had made… and the last scene when he finally breaks into tears as he walks home with his son. A bicycle (I later recalled this ‘method’ while watching Children of Heaven (1997) where Majid Majidi shows the human condition through a pair of shoes.) exposes helplessness of men forced to bear the brunt of extreme poverty resulted from war. No wonder, Ray was influenced by this film and took up filmmaking. This is certainly a masterpiece.

— March 16, 08