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Film Essay: The Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Produced in 1948 and directed by Vittorio De Sica, The Bicycle Thief, also commonly known as Bicycle Thieves is the depiction of the situational state of the post war period after the Second World War. In this film, a father goes in search of a stolen bicycle which he must find because the survival of his whole family is pegged on finding the bike. This film is a 93 minute motion adaptation of a novel that was written by Luigi Bartolini. Not only is it a masterpiece, but also an award winner listed in the 1950 Academy Honorary Award, Sight and Sound Magazine’s ‘greatest film of all times,’ and within the first ten films graded in the British Film Institute’s list of films you should see by the age of 14. The film is produced by PDS Produzioni De Sica, screen played by Gerardo Guerrieri, Oreste biancoli, Luigi Bartolini, and Adolfo Franci. It is narrated by and Lamberto Maggiorari, and dfistributed Umbrella Entertainment. The staring actors of this film include Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carel, and Vintro Antonucci.

To achieve the delivery of the films messages, an assortment of photographic and cinematic techniques get employed. One of such is the symbolic motif in which the outcome of “one going into” many is achieved. In this sense, a character’s activity, behavior or situation is highlighted to indicate the reality in societal situations. The plight of Antonio is one such circumstance indicating the culture and lifestyle in Italy at the time. Shots of a bike and bikes are also used multiply. A situation in the church also indicates pans, with background voice presentation on camera scenes; an example of which includes scenes inside the church.

One of the most outstanding themes in Bicycle Thieves is the theme of unemployment. In notable terms, unemployment seems to be rampant and the order of the day. The inspiration of the story itself runs on this theme. Walking the streets of Rome, the chief character is in distress trying to trace his stolen bicycle. It is because this is a tool of trade whose absence signifies unemployment. Yet the presence of a segmented society and the reality of alienation in such societies glare out as another important theme. To Antonio, the bicycle means life and death, and not having it may be too costly. As it would be, he turns to the police for help. Unluckily, this is the place help will least come from. One police comments that what Antonio is searching for is nothing but just a bicycle. In simple output, the segmented society lets everyone handle their trouble. The same case occurs when Antonio’s friends shut him up because someone is supposedly holding a meeting.

A number of parallel queues in The Bicycle Thieves present cases of disunity doublets. On the overall, the film uses disunity and instances of disruption to ensure a planned achievement of realism. The climax of this film occurs in the scene where Antonio attempts to steal a bicycle. In the climax, Antonio’s portrayal is linked to the thief who had initially stolen his bicycle; hence indicating that in an overall poor world, everyone remains a thief of the other’s livelihood as Antonio’s bicycle which meant livelihood to him was taken. In the same fit, he attempts to take another man’s livelihood in the climax of the film.