Bicycle Thieves

"A man who's been robbed has a right to look." Bicycle Thieves (1948) by Cesare Zavattini, Oreste Biancoli, and Luigi Bartolini (novel) is another Neorealist life drama about a father (Antonio Ricci) and son (Bruno) searching for the father's stolen bike, so that he can continue to work at his new job. Themes of post WWII unemployment, desperation, determination, frustration, resourcefulness (wife-Maria--pawning sheets in order to get bike out of hawk), gratitude (paying the seer for advice/having a good meal), the heaviness of everyday survival, maintaining dignity (in the face of chronic unemployment and hard times), and ridicule (being bullied by a crowd for accusing one of their own). Antonio's exhaustive, day-long search for his bike and the man who stole his bike-with the constant companionship of a son that really wants to help his father--ends at a thick gathering of unlocked and unattended bikes outside of a stadium-and the terrible temptation to take just one. With the early hint that some of the bicycle parts would be changed (and painted), we could almost predict with near certainty that the bike would never be found. Knowing all along, and being reminded of the stakes (and Antonio's desperation) along the way, we can't help but follow Antonio on his journey and hope right along with him for a miracle, despite the never-ending chase and increasing signs of futility. As an example of Italian Neorealism, the ending is not a happy one, but, in this case, a stranger's kindness saves Antonio from going to jail in front of Bruno, which would have been a greater tragedy than not finding his bike. While I have many reasons to consider Bicycle Thieves an outstanding film, and I understand why it ended the way it did, my contemporary writer's brain can't help but wish that the final image would have been of Antonio and Bruno riding off on a bike together.