The Bicycle Thief

Having little to no knowledge of foreign films and cinema, The Bicycle Thief was truly one of the first films that I had looked at from a novice film student's points of view. The Bicycle Thief, directed by Vittorio De Sica (1948), is a story of a man (Antonio) looking for work, he finally finds a job but it is required of him that he has a bicycle for the work. His wife and him decide to sell linens to get money in order to get his bicycle out of confinement. On one of his first days of work his bicycle and several of him supplies needed to hang up posters are stolen from right under him. He desperately looks for the bicycle and sees the thief in the distance a few times throughout the film. His son (Bruno), played by Enzo Staiola, is by his side for the majority of the second half of the film. Father and son venture all over France to try and find the bicycle. By the end of the day the father tells his son to get on the trolley and head home, he says that he will be right behind him. Antonio sees a bicycle outside of someones house and grabs the bike, he is soon caught and Bruno jumps off at the trolley to be by his side while the people who caught him question his morals. They eventually let him go because of his son.

The relationship between father and son is very strong throughout the movie. I was watching the Academy Awards the other day and they showed a clip of The Bicycle Thief when introducing the foreign film criteria. I knew at that point that this film was truly remarkable and one that was historical in many ways. The film makes you feel like you are traveling with Antonio and Bruno looking for the stolen bicycle, it is as if the film is in real time and the settings that are used are real places in Rome. This is one of my favorite films so far, the rawness that is portrayed as well as the somewhat amateur acting that is so captivating makes for a truly wonderful experience.