Postwar Rome, an aria of cruel reality

Deshaun 2022-03-26 09:01:04

In Rome after World War II, unemployment and poverty have become the norm in the city every day, and scarce labor positions have become a resource for people to compete for. Ricky Antonio, who has been out of work for a long time, struggled to find a job posting posters, but this job requires laborers to own a bicycle. For the family's future livelihood, his wife Maria had to pawn her dowry---six flyers in exchange for a bicycle. The bicycle was stolen on the first day of work, so Ricky took his son with him. After searching the streets and alleys of Rome, he couldn't find the bicycle he lived on. Seeing that there is no hope of finding a car, Ricky decides to fight back in a hurry. Unexpectedly, his luck is not as good as other thieves, and he almost goes to jail for attempted car theft.

As a representative work of Italian neorealism, the film won a special Oscar. With a simple story about the theft of an ordinary laborer's bicycle, the small sees the big, and it truly restores the living conditions of Italians after World War II. The whole film is filled with a hopeless mood and a tone of sadness and grief. The camera lens, editing, natural light, background music, and the natural performance of amateur actors in the labor market are very suitable for the social reality at that time. This realistic shooting method avoids the profound ideological communication and artistic style, and focuses on depicting the cruel social status quo in which the toiling masses struggled to survive after the war. People pin their hopes on the gods, but they are fooled by the inexplicable instructions of the goddess. . It is worth mentioning that the performance of the little boy in this film is very eye-catching, innocent and agile, influenced by his father's emotions, and tries his best to cooperate with his father to find the stolen bicycle. His lively nature makes people feel pity for him.

With repeated failures, the father's image also collapsed in the little boy's heart. There is no unexpected development in the plot. The whole film uses plain and simple methods to create the distress and anxiety of the victims, as if the audience is also in it, complaining about their own experiences but seeing no hope. Just as the goddess in the film made a powerless prophecy:

Before the first leaf fell, your son found it

Change it, she doesn't like you.

If your bike is not found today, it will never be found.

Yes, I am like a man in chains, cursed from birth.

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Extended Reading
  • General 2021-11-13 08:01:22

    The pinnacle of Italian neo-realistic films, focusing on the joys, sorrows, sorrows and joys of the people at the bottom. The performances of the amateur actors are real and vivid, and there seem to be a thousand words in the eyes of the father and son at the end. De Sica does not adhere to the dogma of maximizing realism. The soundtrack runs through the entire film, the use of long shots and the moderate use of close-up and close-ups make the film closer to traditional drama, without sensational and fierce accusations, and the style is sad but not hurt. . (8.5/10) [2020-10-29 Yihai Theater 4K repaired version rebrushed] The father and son performed really well, every move, every smile is natural, impeccable! In addition, the play is extremely delicate, and the main plot is actually very dramatic. At the same time, in the gap between the progress of the strong dramatic plot, a lot of "free pens" with rich details have been inserted to reflect the reality of the Italian society from all dimensions as much as possible. situation. The enduring charm of this film actually proves: the best neo-realism movies do not show reality exactly like actual daily life, but the purification, extraction and concentration of reality.

  • Gregorio 2022-03-27 09:01:04

    A few details: the thief of an English title is plural. Although at the beginning, I felt that the victim must eventually become the perpetrator, but the plural details are quite pointy; the second is the last passer-by's sentence "You must also Thank God", thinking "Brother, you can pull it down", like "The Devil in the Elevator", "If the devil is real, then God is real.", who said the other way around is not? The third is the details of the last child's face-wiping (corresponding to the details of the face-wiping under the father's roof). Children are subconscious creatures, and adults will always be their mirrors, whether good or bad... Although there are Many people try to interpret the final outcome as "the image of the father collapses in the child's heart", but what if the child grows up to become a more powerful car thief than the father who attempted to steal a car (or even the king of car thieves? , If there is a sequel, I will definitely set the second generation to be a professional stealing motor vehicles, and an amateur stealing bicycles to cultivate sentiment... Then how did he get this hobby? It is very complicated for human nature)? This could be another possibility pointing to plurals in the title.

Bicycle Thieves quotes

  • Antonio Ricci: [At a restaurant, he and his son notice a nearby table occupied by an apparently well-off family who are eating quite well] To eat like that, you'd have to earn at least a million a month.

  • La Santona: [Addressing a young man seated before her, apparently seeking advice on his love life] You must plant your seeds in another field. Do you understand what I mean?

    Young man seeking advice: No, I don't understand.

    La Santona: It's simple, my boy. What good is planting seeds if the soil rejects them? You plant, but don't gather. Understand?

    Young man seeking advice: I haven't understood a word.

    La Santona: [Becoming impatient] She doesn't love you! Forget her!

    La Santona: [Pausing for effect] Dear boy, you're very ugly. Yes, ugly. There are so many other women... Go and plow another field!