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Deceptively simple,
Vittorio De Sica’s cinematic masterpiece Bicycle Thieves features
unequalled, authentic performances, stunning visuals, moral dilemmas
and a beautifully bittersweet father-son relationship. Incredibly
honest and doubtlessly powerful, this pioneer of neorealism is one
of the most important and masterful films ever made.
Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani) struggles to get a job in poverty stricken postwar Rome and finally manages to make a little money hanging posters throughout the bustling streets. His wife Maria (Lianella Carell) sells their bedsheets so that Antonio can get his bicycle out of a pawn shop, giving him conveyance for which he was chosen to receive the job in the first place. On his first day his bicycle is stolen and in the couple of days that follow, he brings his young son Bruno (Enzo Staiola) to help scour the unfriendly streets for the dastardly bicycle thieves. Showcasing one of the most heartfelt and authentic interactions
between father and son, perhaps the greatest that cinema has to
offer, Bicycle Thieves doesn’t tread lightly on the idea
that crime leads to more crime and people in desperate situations
often resort to unbecoming means. The scene in which Maria sells
their sheets to get Antonio’s bike out of hock shows a man
climbing dangerously high metal shelves to stow the new linen
amongst more of the same. Row after row is filled with product
they can’t possibly use, especially in a town that is evidently
so poor that all of its citizens no longer have sheets. |
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As Antonio becomes more
desperate, valuing the bike as more than just a means of transportation,
he drags Bruno through the rain and crowded streets in search of
the crooked thieves. He follows an old man who is clearly in cahoots
with one of the robbers, and harasses him in a church, but eventually
allows the elderly criminal to elude him. When Bruno questions his
father’s actions, he gets slapped. Despite the discipline
and even the bad example Antonio later sets when he tries to steal
another bicycle, Bruno is the one who constantly looks out for his
father. As if their roles were reversed, Bruno has to watch over
Antonio like he was a child, reduced to impatience and stubbornness
over a missing toy.
Early on, Maria visits an old woman dubbed the “Holy One” who blesses a lucky few with her visions and prophecies. She tells Maria that her husband will get a job, but Antonio doesn’t believe in such nonsense. Later, when he has run out of ideas, he finds himself back at the old woman’s home and asking for help. She tells him, “either you find it right away, or you never will.” Antonio takes this to be jargon. The longer he waits around unable to locate the bike, the more likely it will be disassembled or sold off. But what the Holy One really alludes to is his reasons for searching. Either he will recognize immediately what his futile search is doing to both his morals and his relationship with his son, or he never will. The bike is just a bike to the cops, who require forms and paperwork and have no real means of locating the thieves, but the bicycle represents Antonio’s livelihood – his life or death. “Why kill myself worrying when I’ll end up just as dead anyway,” he says, right before he treats his son to a hearty meal they can’t afford. Driven to steal another man’s bike when all else has failed, Antonio is treated to a life lesson – one that allows him a second chance at living, as well as at setting an example for his son. The irresolute conclusion is just as tragically simple as it needs to be, not revealing the exact destiny of Antonio and Bruno, but hinting that a new opportunity at doing the right thing is possible. Surrounded by excellent music, Bicycle Thieves shows a desperate man becoming the very thing he sets out to abolish. Along the way, we are treated to amazingly genuine characters and a beautifully poignant adventure shared by father and son. - Mike Massie
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