Bicycle Thief has everything that a bad day has in it for all of us. Antonio's bike gets stolen, he gets rained on, he can't make any money and he gets beat up. Just when opportunity is knocking the world seem to have a way to makes answering the door impossible. I imagine this scenario is even more true for the people of a war torn country. The way the camera almost never looks away moving through the city puts you in the terrible day with Antonio and Bruno. There is no cut away, transition, or fade to save you from the reality that this is neorealism and there will be no warm and fuzzy at the end.
According to Moviediva.com the poster that Antonio is hired to paste on the walls of the city is of Rita Hayworth in the movie Gilda. The essay on Bicycle Thief goes on to speak of the irony of this event taking place in the back story of an Italian neorealism film since Gilda is an example of the escapism that most people of Italy wanted. I imagine watching this film again would yield many more powerful messages, I loved it!
Kevin Washington
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I'm glad you liked it, Kevin. I also find it serenely endearing. I think Bruno really helps to lend likability to Antonio's character, and also comic relief. He's so cute!
ReplyDeleteThat's great that you did some outside research, and in doing so found symbols for hidden messages, placed in films for those who know about movies and film industry trends. I like how you pointed out the long takes, as I feel they give a unique subjectivity that takes a big risk in losing the viewer in doing so, but I really think it works here. The music helps, and you really feel the long, passing time for the two. Thanks for posting.