 |
| Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani) and his wife, Maria (Lianella Carell), just before everything goes wrong. |
Bicycle Thieves
Original Title: Ladri di biciclette. Also Released As: The Bicycle Thief.
Release Date: Nov. 24, 1948. Running Time: 89 minutes. Screenplay: Oreste Biancoli, Suso D'Amico, Vittorio De Sica, Adolfo Franci, Gerardo Guerrieri, Gherardo Gherardi, Cesare Zavattini. Story by: Cesare Zavattini. Producer: Giuseppe Amato, Vittorio De Sica. Director: Vittorio De Sica.
Version Reviewed: Italian, with English subtitles.
THE PLOT:
Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani) is one of multitudes of unemployed workers in post-war Rome, living in poverty with his wife, Maria (Lianella Carell), and their son, Bruno (Enzo Staiola). One day, he receives a job putting up posters. The job requires a bicycle, and he's recently pawned his - but after his wife sells their bedsheets, he is able to buy it back.
The job pays well and is the answer to Antonio's prayers. But while he's working at the top of a ladder, disaster strikes: a thief (Vittorio Antunucci) steals his bicycle. He files a police report, but the authorities offer little hope of retrieval.
This leaves Antonio and Bruno searching the streets of Rome on their own, hoping against hope that they will be able to find the stolen bike so that Antonio can keep the job that he so badly needs.
 |
| Antonio with his son, Bruno (Enzo Staiola). |
CHARACTERS:
Antonio: The theft of his bicycle, which he knows will mean the loss of his job, makes him increasingly desperate. At one point, he descends to staggering around casting looks in random directions, as if his bike will appear by magic. He becomes snappish with his adoring son, even slapping him in a moment of frustration - something he feels immediately and overwhelmingly guilty about. The job gave him a chance to truly provide for his family, something he likely hasn't been able to do since the war. The thought of losing that is more than just the loss of money - It's the loss of his own self-respect.
Bruno: Antonio's young son. Bruno adores his father, and he is devastated when Antonio slaps him, something it takes several minutes of screen time for him to forgive. A sad irony of Antonio's situation is that Bruno has a job, which we see when Antonio drops him off before bicycling off to his own first day. Antonio is certainly aware that if he loses his job, his young son will be doing more for the family than he is. The relationship between father and son is the emotional center, and the film constantly cuts to Bruno watching his father's quixotic quest. He really only gets one moment to behave as a child: when Antonio takes him to a restaurant and orders him a mozzarella sandwich, which Bruno eats by tugging the cheese out like a string.
Maria: She doesn't hesitate when Antonio tells her about the job, which he fears he can't take since he pawned the bicycle. She immediately strips the sheets from their bed and marches to the pawnshop, determined to get the money needed to buy the bike back. There's a certain weariness in this, as if she's become a little too accustomed to solving her husband's problems, but her fondness shows when she lets herself share in his excitement at the new job.
Baiocco: A friend of Antonio's, Baiocco is both older and more street-smart. Though he doesn't appear to be a criminal himself, he seems to have some knowledge of how the city's thieves operate. He takes Antonio to the markets where stolen goods are stripped for parts and resold, which he sees as the most likely path to recovering the bicycle.
The Thief: Though he has only minimal screen time, the bicycle thief (Vittorio Antunucci) is a memorable presence. He wears a German cap, invoking the war, and his face is hard, even rodent-like in its shrewd watchfulness. He's a vile man, totally unrepentant, and he's supported by seemingly an entire neighborhood of criminals. At the same time, he's just as much in poverty as Antonio, and there's something pathetic about him. His very callousness speaks to this, as if the world just plain beat the decency out of him.
 |
| Bruno enjoys a mozzarella sandwich. |
EARLY INFLUENCE - TAKAHATA:
Bicycle Thieves is probably the best-known film of the 1940s Italian neorealist movement. Italian neorealism centered on working class people, filmed on location and in a documentary style, usually with non-professional actors. The goal was to make the viewers feel as if they were watching a slice of life rather than a constructed story.
This approach would become strongly favored by Isao Takahata. Certainly, echoes of this movie, both in narrative and stylistic terms, can be seen in fare such as the television series, 3,000 Leagues in Search of Mother, and his first animated Ghibli film, Grave of the Fireflies.
Bicycle Thieves has been cited as a major influence for Takahata. This puts him in good company. Just within Ghibli circles, the film was named as an inspiration by Michael Dudok de Wit, who would direct the 2016 release, The Red Turtle. It has also been lauded by a long list of notable directors, including François Truffaut, Ken Loach, and Martin Scorsese. This is a film that had a genuine, lasting impact on world cinema as a whole.
 |
| Antonio's search becomes increasingly desperate. |
THOUGHTS:
Some "great" movies don't get discovered until long after release. Bicycle Thieves is not one of them. This film was internationally recognized almost immediately, and it was one of a handful of foreign language films to win an Oscar before "Best Foreign Language Film" became an annual award.
Though it's almost 80 years old, it remains a fine film to watch. It was shot entirely in real locations, and that lends authenticity even very good studio backlots can't capture. Director Vittorio De Sica uses music sparingly, letting the actors, story, and dialogue carry the drama. When the music does come up, either to cover transitions or to emphasize mood, Alessandro Cicognini's score is a perfect companion: simple, even repetitive, but also emotional and haunting.
Antonio's situation is achingly relatable. While treating Bruno to a meal at a restaurant, he talks about what the job meant. He breaks down the numbers: salary, plus overtime, plus family allowance. Enough to escape poverty, to jump up to grasp the next rung on what's less a social ladder than a fire escape that dangles tantalizingly out of arm's reach. Meanwhile, a wealthy family dines at the next table, the adults ignoring them while their young son glances at the unkempt Bruno with open disdain.
 |
| Antonio and Bruno take a moment to pause during their hopeless search. |
There are enough moments of light to keep the viewing experience from becoming 90 minutes of despair. Antonio, upon receiving the job, is initially in a dark mood because he already pawned the bicycle. His wife lifts him out of it by selling the sheets to get it back. This opening episode seems narratively irrelevant, as the story itself would work if Antonio simply had his bicycle at the outset - but by showing him in a black mood, we get an early reminder that something may occur to pull him out again.
The scenes of him talking excitedly about the new job show the genuine warmth within this family. Even after the bicycle is stolen, there is a moment in which he is terrified that a "drowned boy" might be his own son; it isn't, but it reminds both him and us that his situation could be infinitely worse. Then there's the restaurant scene, in which Bruno happily plays with his mozzarella sandwich, something that's clearly a rare treat for him.
It's certainly downbeat - but these moments keep life in it, and that keeps it enjoyable to watch.
OVERALL:
Bicycle Thieves is considered a seminal film, and it deserves that status. It's beautifully shot. The Rome locations add texture that could not have been replicated in a studio, and the themes about poverty and the seeming impossibility of social mobility are all too relevant today. Its 90 minutes don't exactly fly by, and its atmosphere is quite depressing in its very authenticity. It has a hypnotic quality, however, and there is no chore in watching it.
Overall Rating: 10/10.
Next Review: A 1950s French animated feature that inspired Miyazaki, Takahata, and a full generation of animators - though if its director had his way, it would not have been released to even have that impact...
Review Index
To receive new review updates, follow me:
On BlueSky:
On Threads:
