Ladri Di Biciclette

1948 Vittorio De Sica

First I must confess I have not watched Umberto D (1952). Instead I took my parents to see The Bicycle Thief at Cinecenta.
Victtorio De Sica made me realize that simplicity in plot brings out the human experience. In both films there is no love triangle or obscure action packed sequences. It is a matter of a man and his dog in Umberto D or a man, his son and bicycle in The Bicycle Thief. As modern theater goers it maybe hard to grasp that such a story could hold your attention for 93 minutes.
Not only was I interested in Antonio Ricci's struggle I was beyond my control so utterly wholly invested in his being.
His wife pawns her bed sheets so that he may have a bicycle in order to the get the job he needs to feed his family .
The image of an emaciated, tired Antonio Ricci perfoming his job putting up larger than life posters of Rita Heyworth on the impoverished streets of a pre- war rome will be imprinted in my mind for all eternity.
Rita Hayworth is over sexualized, glamourous and unattainable. In fact the poster is so foreign to Antonio and his peer's way of life it mocks him. The grandeur of Rita, the american way of life or the comment on the Hollywood industry at the time , however it is interpreted one thing is for certain Mrs. Haywood, the poster, the product is completely detached from the realities of life. His key to livelihood his bicycle is stolen right under Rita's eyes.

It would be easy to write a novel on this movie. De Sica is having an open and honest discussion with the audience about every facet of life from the role of the church to the duties of a parent. He is not telling us what to believe instead he is widening our state of consciousness. He questions our belief in justice, our entitlement to a perceived concept of right and wrong. He begs us to be aware of the circumstances and look at the people. There is no structure in life.
I left the movie wondering how can we dictate the rules when there are none.
My dad thought the film's cinematography was astounding. Filled with shots of a [post war] Rome that can never be duplicated.
My mom thought "This is Italy."

I will leave you with Marlon Brando's thoughts "The Bicycle Thief is a perfect example of what can be done before the motion picture camera and is so rarely done."



Great Fan trailer and you get to see half a second of the poster I ramble on about.