Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948)

[Clark Nova]

*WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.*

In all likelihood, there is nary a top 100 list, or even a top 10 list, of film critic after film historian after the most casual of film fans that does not include Bicycle Thieves. Receiving an honorary Academy Award as the best foreign film of 1948, years before the category even became official, the film has widely been considered one of the best offered by both the time period and the foreign market, and rightly so. However, watch the 90 or so minutes of “Bicycle Thieves” with an untrained eye, or at least one lacking a certain amount of film going experience, and that greatness could be rather difficult to identify. Rarely, if at all, in this film will one find the flashy cinematographic or editing genius of, say, Citizen Kane, or the clever and complex dialogue of the period’s iconic film noir. Rather than set a precedent with style, director Vittorio De Sica relies, ironically, on its utter simplicity to demonstrate its brilliance, indeed proving that style need not precede substance.

Of all the elements of “Bicycle Thieves” that give it that simplicity, perhaps the one that is most deceptively so is the plot. It concerns Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani), a worker among a mass of workers, doing what every one of those workers in Post-war, poverty-stricken Rome would do: look for any little job that comes their way. One such job comes Antonio’s way in the form of putting posters up throughout the city. The job, however, requires a bicycle: the kind of bicycle that Antonio just happened to pawn. The problem is soon solved, though, with the help of his wife Maria (Lianella Carell), the couple’s bed sheets, and a trip to the pawn shop. Soon enough, Antonio and his young son Bruno (Enzo Staiola) are on the job and all appears well.

Of course, with the film’s mood of poverty and pessimism set from the opening scene, depicting a poor section of the city with masses of workers lining up for jobs as if begging for food, Antonio couldn’t possibly get off that easily. Sure enough, his world is changed as his bicycle is stolen while on the job. The remainder of that fateful day is chronicled by the film, as Antonio and young Bruno search the city for the bicycle, and thus searching for a means of living.

As Antonio and Bruno search for the bicycle over the course of this fateful day, it becomes evident that the plot, already simple in design, begins to fade into the background, perhaps becoming irrelevant after a while. “Bicycle Thieves,” at its core, ceases to be a plot-driven vehicle as father and son search for a means of conveyance, instead embracing and embodying the Italian Neorealist movement of the 1940s. It paints a picture of post-war Italy, about as real as tangible as a fictional movie of that period could be. An image such as that in the warehouse-like pawn shop, for example, depict a world both real and easily perceived within the confines of the celluloid, as the clerk takes Antonio’s bed sheets and climbs a wall of shelves, each containing more bed sheets. This in a nutshell is Rome and its poor citizens: a snapshot of a time and place without cinematic fluff or flare, but rather a simple look, making for something more genuine and more real.

Consider also late in the film, when Antonio, as close to despair as we have seen him, spots his thief by chance and chases him into a back alley and brothel. Instead of finding justice, he is greeted by the alley’s denizens, as steadfast in their defense of the seizure-prone young man as they are hostile against the invading force that is this father and son duo. Never does Antonio prove the young man’s guilt, nor do we the audience ever find out if he is indeed the perpetrator. In a way, it is irrelevant. What matters here are the moment and the place. Antonio and Bruno are outsiders in this little alley, this miniature world of people joined by an unnamed bond that is immediately recognizable through this small scene. Sure, it is just another step in Antonio and Bruno’s day-long journey, but it, like the film as a whole, also sets the scene for a world that feels recognizable and tangible upon first viewing. Thus is the genius in the simplicity of “Bicycle Thieves,” and thus is the essence of Neorealism. One need not have lived in circa-1940s Rome to know that De Sica was depicting out of genuine experience. Antonio and Bruno’s journey becomes our own, as what is indeed a simple story of finding a bicycle becomes a tour of a living and breathing city, a piece of pure atmosphere rather than ordinary plot.

Of course, any film of merit will need some plot of interest as a backbone to move it along. Yes, a search for a bicycle isn’t exactly a grand conflict or epic quest, but it does speak worlds of a place steeped in reality, its simplicity a means of allegory towards a demonstration of Rome’s poverty-related situation circa 1948. A plot steeped in a message like this, so straightforward yet so grand at its core, is luckily carried by performances that are, if not “great,” at least impressive. Lamberto Maggiorani, playing Antonio, was not a professional actor, nor was Enzo Staiola as his son Bruno, making their achievements in front of the camera that much more impressive. You wouldn’t know that most of these performers were making their cinema debuts because they are playing, quite simply, who they are, essentially living out their everyday lives in front of a camera. No theatrics, no heart wrenching monologues, just going through the motions of a day in the life. The pair of father and son, in fact, seems to become one before long, working off each other in what have now become many iconic film images. Following a bout of frustration taken out on his son, for example, Antonio takes Bruno to a lively restaurant, complete with music and Mozzarella sandwiches. As the pair eagerly receives what to them is a feast and Bruno eats heartily, with his hands, Mozzarella stretching to oblivion in the process, he looks with both confusion and embarrassment towards a boy of higher class, eating politely with utensils and a snooty look. “To eat like them,” Antonio says, “you have to earn a million lira a month.” True, but what about the look of unabated, child-like joy on young Bruno’s face upon first sight of the sandwich, or the jolly music band, or just a simple meal with his father? Poverty-stricken and desperate a place as this is, it sure seems like familial bonds and an appreciation of life’s most overlooked pleasures, as so quaintly and beautifully portrayed in this simple yet pleasant lunch scene speak higher than some money.

Naturally, such ideas suggest a motive aimed towards promoting economic equality among the classes, perhaps even a socialist agenda, and indeed De Sica was often believed to have held such sentiments. Never is such an idea more apparent than in the now-famous climax and finale. Antonio’s final despair in the crowded town square over failing to find the bicycle, and his subsequent decision upon seeing an idle bicycle, suggest a chain of crime in such a setting that seems unavoidable. That Antonio, the man (as opposed to “character”) desperate to simply get by day-to-day, should come to these dire circumstances comes as a shock to the viewer who would not expect such a decision out of him. At the same time, however, one should not be surprised that it has come to this. Yes, Antonio is exonerated of any potential crime and put on his way along with his now horrified son, and such an outcome would commence the swell of music and happily-ever-after cue of a more formulaic film. Here, though, the viewer need look no further than the final image of citizen after citizen walking away from the camera, slouched and morose, to realize that this ending is far from storybook: it is steeped in the real.

10/10

[sacrilegend]

I loved that film.

[kiddo]

I love the film and your review. As far as I'm concerned, it's a very well-written, thoughtful text (but how valid is my opinion? I'm an ordinary Norwegian). I would've liked to discuss this film with you, going into details (as you do certain place in your review) and maybe exploring new aspects of the film together.. But this reminds me that I need to rewatch the film. Thanks.

[captainofbeef]

I haven't seen it yet, so I'm gonna hold off reading this until I do. But I'm sure its a good review.

[criterionmaster]

Yeah, that whole "spoilers ahead" thing stopped me at the top of your review, I am going to see this film, though, and when I do I will read your review and comment.

[wkw]

Wow, great review. You are good enought to run your own review website.

[Clark Nova]

wkw said:

Wow, great review. You are good enought to run your own review website.

I do...kind of, if you call a blog that nobody reads a review website.

www.simonsrantingsandravings.blogspot.com/

[Clark Nova]

and yeah, i think the problem with most of my reviews (if it's even a "problem" at all) is the spoilers. I think they're not really reviews in the normal sense of the word, but modeled more like, say, Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" essays. So I think they're not really reviews but more like critical analyses. So might as well use this as a warning to you all to not read anything I write until you see the movie...can't be helped

[ie]

In all honesty, I couldn't read past the first paragraph. Maaaybe I don't quite appreciate the movie the way I could/should, but in any case, starting a review off with an assumption that can alienate people (cinema is entirely opinion, after all-not everyone likes the same movies) isn't always a good idea. Just a suggestion.

[Clark Nova]

ie said:

In all honesty, I couldn't read past the first paragraph. Maaaybe I don't quite appreciate the movie the way I could/should, but in any case, starting a review off with an assumption that can alienate people (cinema is entirely opinion, after all-not everyone likes the same movies) isn't always a good idea. Just a suggestion.

umm, but it's true though. How many top film lists by experts and critics have you seen that doesn't have bicycle thieves on it?

[ie]

police386 said:

umm, but it's true though. How many top film lists by experts and critics have you seen that doesn't have bicycle thieves on it?

Truth is relative. If you say the sky is blue, a color-blind person will tell you it's gray, and in their world, it is gray, absolutely. Outside of their world, it could be blue, but to them, it is gray, so their version of truth and reality is that it is gray.

I know one in particular.
The Bicycle Thieves is a movie that does not appeal to everyone, no movie appeals to everyone, and no movie will ever please every single person. We've been over this before: if a person can dislike the Seven Samurai, so long as they have their reasons and don't mind others that do like that movie, then it is fine. Like I mentioned, every single thing about movies are based off of opinions; even for documentaries, someone decided, "I think that this is relevant enough to shoot."

All I'm trying to do is say that you shouldn't start out a review by saying 100% of people will like this movie. Maybe that's what you heard on TV, kid, but I assure you, not everyone likes this movie or any movie and it's not just because they have "bad taste." Difference of opinions; realities conflict; people get upset and people die because they were trying to shoot the zombies but missed.

I would probably still argue this even if I did really really like this movie, but I only found it moderately agreeable and highly, highly overrated, so it became a bigger issue.

[Clark Nova]

ie said:

All I'm trying to do is say that you shouldn't start out a review by saying 100% of people will like this movie.

That's not what I was saying at all. I was basically saying, in a nutshell, that the movie's been praised beyond belief for decades, and I try to find reasons for that with the rest of the review. By no means was I saying that critics have praised it to the nth degree, so anyone who reads this has to like it. I'm only stating simple inferences.

But you have made me realize that that intro. needs work...just about any amateur review of a classic nowadays begins with something like how it's been praised for years, blah blah blah. So yeah, should probably watch out for that next time I get off my lazy ass and actually write a review and make myself productive for once

[ie]

No problem. Just being critical of your work, even if it really disinterested me. Over the next couple of days (if not, remind me) I'll try to go back and actually read your review (since I've seen the movie), let you know what I think, and constructively let you know what needs a little work and what I think you did well on.


As for the start of a review: look for something that hasn't been said. Go for a scene you like, evaluate it, interpret it. The way you started your Dawn of the Dead review, talking about a particular scene, stuck out in my mind before and after I saw it for the first time.

And if you're concerned about following in other people's footsteps, remember that each person has a slightly different view on the movie. Both literally, because you'll probably watch it from a different angle in a theater, and figuratively, in that your experiences and knowledge on the subject can both help (accuracy usually helps the movie go along better) and hurt (old hat, done better before).

This is not Clark Nova, channelling Roger Ebert, in a review of the Bicycle Thieves. If you take out the Roger Ebert part, that, in of itself, is unique.

[sacrilegend]

criterionmaster said:

Yeah, that whole "spoilers ahead" thing stopped me at the top of your review, I am going to see this film, though, and when I do I will read your review and comment.

You have to, no question, but not before Wings of Desire.

Although I loved this so much too, you've been promising me forever and a week.

[dontdigonswine]

Great review. Pretty much summarized everything that I thought about the movie.

[criterionmaster]

police386 said:

and yeah, i think the problem with most of my reviews (if it's even a "problem" at all) is the spoilers. I think they're not really reviews in the normal sense of the word, but modeled more like, say, Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" essays. So I think they're not really reviews but more like critical analyses. So might as well use this as a warning to you all to not read anything I write until you see the movie...can't be helped

Yeah, I usually find it pretty hard to write a review without spoilers, especially if the ending is fantastic or something. Or the whole film is full of important scenes. Some people ask me to tell them about Fanny and Alexander, and all I can say is "it is about a boy..." because if I go any further it really gives too much away, it is so much better to go into something like that blind. It is alright to use spoilers, though, and I am glad you marked that, so it didn't spoil anything.

I have heard quite a few people say this is overrated though, and that it wasn't that great, and not just ie, but I will still check it out, since so many other people like it, there must be something about it worth seeing. It seems like a film that is just called art, but not really entertaining or something, but you did give it a 10/10, so it must be great.

[Clark Nova]

well, i can definitely see why people would call it overrated, 'cuz like i said in the review, it's about as minimal and "ordinary" as a movie can get in terms of technique. But you really gotta know about Italian neo-realism and how this "ordinary"ness is one of the things that makes it so great.

[ie]

Still working on trying to write a proper response to the review. It's just that with so much else going on, I'd rather do something... hmm... you kind of get the point with my tone.

It's just important because it's sad (such a true statement). I'm surprised more emo kids don't like it.

[criterionmaster]

This dude in the film Cinemania said the same thing, something like "if it's depressing, it must be art." It made me and my dad laugh, but yeah, it is true. Look at Au Hasard Balthazar. It isn't dark enough for emo kids, probably.

We will see, I certainly LOVED the other De Sica film I have seen.

[kiddo]

police386 said:

...But you really gotta know about Italian neo-realism and how this "ordinary"ness is one of the things that makes it so great.

No, you don't. Ladri de bicilette can be a great door opening to the colourful world of the Italian neo-realism. In some ways, it was exactly that for me.

What film by De Sica have you seen, cm? It isn't Umberto D, is it?

[Clark Nova]

kiddo said:

police386 said:

...But you really gotta know about Italian neo-realism and how this "ordinary"ness is one of the things that makes it so great.

No, you don't. Ladri de bicilette can be a great door opening to the colourful world of the Italian neo-realism. In some ways, it was exactly that for me.

yeah, that's what i should've said. this was my first neo-realist movie, after all.

[criterionmaster]

kiddo said:

What film by De Sica have you seen, cm? It isn't Umberto D, is it?

Nope, it was:

The Garden Of The Finzi Continis


which was fucking amazing, poetic, beautiful, sad, and everything in-between. this was just a masterpiece of a film. from a reviewer on imdb: "In THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS -- based on the autobiographical novel by Giorgio Bassani -- legendary Neorealist filmmaker, Vittorio de Sica, dramatizes the human cost of the `racial laws' gradually implemented against the Jews in Fascist Italy during the years 1938-43. The more Bassani's young middle-class Jewish protagonist feels the brunt of Mussolini's anti-Semitic edicts encroaching upon him, the more he feels drawn to the aristocratic Jewish Finzi-Continis' estate -- their Edenic "garden" -- and to Micòl, the family's beautiful young daughter. Psychologically, this compulsion seems to stem from a deep emotional attachment to a perpetually innocent, untroubled state of childhood, which both Micòl and her garden seem to represent. Throughout the film, there is a marked conflict between childhood and adulthood, between the distant past and the immediate present, between the act of retreating into a world of comfortable illusions and confronting a world of harsh and bitter realities."

he couldn't have said the plot any better. it is definitely worth checking out, kiddo, i think you would like it a lot.

[captainofbeef]

I loved this film very much and your review helped me gather my thoughts on it. Bravo Simon!

[kiddo]

Thanks for the answer, cm. Didn't see it before now. Sorry. Well, thank for the recommendation, anyways. You should check out Umberto D. It's now in my top 3, after I rewatched it a couple of weeks ago.

[criterionmaster]

wow, top 3!? now i really do need to check it out. i am quite interested in de sica.