Bicycle Thieves: Study of a Neorealist Film
Italian 454
Apr 6, 2012
Being new to the study of film, I would like to view and analyze the film Bicycle Thieves, a film of Vittorio De Sica (1948), using Mary Wood’s 10 points of a neorealist film, which were cited by http://itpworld.wordpress.com/2008/12/14/bicycle-thieves-ladri-di-biciclette-italy-1948.
“Mary Wood (1996) quotes a French film journal, Films et documents from 1952 and its “Ten Points of neo-realism”.
1. the message;
2. topical scripts inspired by concrete events – great historical and social issues tackled from the point of view of the ‘common people’;
3. a sense of detail as a means of authentication;
4. a sense of the masses and the ability to manipulate them in front of the camera;
5. realism;
6. the truth of actors, many of them non-professionals;
7. the truth of lighting;
8. the truth of decor and the refusal of studio;
9. photography, reminiscent of the reportage style stressing the impression of truth;
10. an extremely free camera, its unrestricted movements resulting from the use of post-synchronisation.”
1. The message:
To me, the film seemed to be a morality play, which is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “something which involves a direct conflict between right and wrong or good and evil and from which a moral lesson may be drawn.”
Upon re-watching the film I witnessed Antonio not to be a totally honest nor very likable person. He was not dishonest, but he was not a beacon of character for his son Bruno. To be fair, under the circumstances of his struggle to maintain his dignity and support his family, perhaps he did things outside of his normal character.
• At the Employment Office, he lies about having a working bicycle to take a job which requires a bike.
• He hopes he can pull his wife Maria away from paying what she owes to the “holy woman.”
• After the loss of the bike, with impatience, he broke into the bus line to board a bus home.
• He tells his son Bruno the bike is broken, when actually it was stolen.
• Suffering from frustration and a feeling of hopelessness, he verbally is unkind to his wife and at one point slaps the young Bruno.
• With a sense of self importance, Antonio goes straight to the front of the line to obtain advice from the “holy woman.”
• Throughout his search, we see Antonio repeatedly grab, threaten and verbally abuse various people as he searched for his stolen bike.
After a weekend long search, Antonio and his young son Bruno, finally see Alfredo and they pursue Alfredo. Although the film viewer knows with certainty Alfredo is the thief, it should be noted when the thief stole Antonio’s bicycle, neither man saw each other’s face. Antonio’s face was hidden as he worked to hang a movie poster. Alfredo wore a distinctive German cap, which may or may not have been unique in all of Rome. Alfredo could not have known the identity of his pursuer and rightfully ran from Antonio, to the safety of his neighborhood in “Via Panico.” The film’s message is clear: “Stay out of Via Panico!” If Antonio’s actions are motivated by pure panic to find a means to support his family, can we justify all his actions by saying he was morally compelled to act this way?
2. social issues tackled from the point of view of the ‘common people’
After the war years in Italy, there was financial hardship for all social classes. During the church service scene we are reminded to “Embrace the trials of our lives.” Later, a policeman tells Antonio, “We are all thieves.”
After being pursued by Antonio, Alfredo denies he has taken the bike and is defended by both neighbors and his mother. They attest to his good character and innocence. We know nothing about Alfredo. Perhaps his action of stealing the bike was also motivated by good intentions, such as supporting his mother and sister. But as film viewers, haven’t we already made a moral judgment about Alfredo? He is the bad thief.
Later at the film’s finale, when Antonio also steals a bicycle, we as film viewers, think of Antonio’s good intentions and ask for his forgiveness in his lapse of morality.
3. a sense of detail as a means of authentication;
The film was almost a documentary, in that we are able to see real pedestrian traffic, along with and cars and public transportation on the streets of Rome. The Sunday morning street vendors at Porta Portese Flea Market, along with local architectural landmarks give the film its authenticity. During one scene, a distant but curious woman looks across from her window into the “kitchen apartment of Antonio” and promptly shuts her shutters.
4. a sense of the masses and the ability to manipulate them in front of the camera;
Both the market place scenes and the large street intersections gave a feeling of authenticity with hundreds of citizens, going about their normal daily tasks, unknowingly taking part in the film. We walk right among them and they take no notice of us.
5. realism;
The scenes filmed in real rain presented a feeling of steamy uncomfortable wetness. Street scenes showing traffic, bicyclists, public transportation, and the full soccer stadium with crowds of fans and bicycles were definitely real. The barbed wire fencing outside the water distribution point was telling. It seemed to serve no purpose to the film’s story, but instead was probably leftover from the recent war.
6. the truth of actors, many of them non-professionals;
Neorealist films favored filming non-professional actors in their normal places of employment. In the film, we can see real women collecting water at the faucets. The police station scene also seemed to be an authentic place, with real office workers milling about in the background. People strolling along the riverbank at dusk were most certainly not extras. Using non-professional actors gave the director a vast array of faces with character. The church scene was filled with interesting faces and clothing and gave those moments inside the church a feeling that we really were witnessing a church service.
7. the truth of lighting;
Natural outdoor lighting can be seen throughout the film, during early morning and dusk scenes. The tunnel scene, where Antonio first pursues the thief, is filmed in natural lighting.
8. the truth of decor and the refusal of studio;
Even scenes shot inside apartments, seemed to be done with non-studio settings. During many scenes, we can see outside activities, which are not part of the story taking place.
9. photography, reminiscent of the reportage style stressing the impression of truth;
Bicycle Thieves makes the viewer believe we are actually following Antonio as he looks for his bike. We don’t feel we are watching a drama or fairy tale, but living with him in his space. The viewer finds himself involved in looking for the bicycle.
10. an extremely free camera, its unrestricted movements resulting from the use of post-synchronisation.”
The camera acts as our eyes. We feel as if we are seeing everything, that nothing is hidden. The camera moves with our eyes and our eyes move with the camera. We have stepped back in time to witness a poor man’s search for his bicycle and we are spell-bound.
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