The Real Bicycle Thief

I thought The Bicycle Thief fit the bill for Italian Neorealism flawlessly. It was set on-location in the busy streets of Rome's working class neighborhoods. The real time action showed us everyday people of the time struggling to feed their families and stay out of the streets. There was no resolution, as Antonio never finds his bicycle and continues to walk through the poverished streets. I'm not sure if the actors were professional or not, but I'm assuming huge Italian celebrities of the day wouldn't have shown the world how ugly their country was becoming by playing roles such as Antonio's. Nonetheless, I thought the actor who played him did a phenomenal job of portraying the effects a Facist government has on ordinary people.

With that being said, the real "bicycle thief" was not the man in the street, but rather the government, or (more specifically) Mussolini. A bicycle is typically a symbol of freedom, as one pedals it exactly where he/she wants to go. In fact, movies such as The Wizard of Oz depict people who ride bicycles, such as Dorothy, as having a hunger for freedom. Therefore, it didn't matter who literally stole Antonio's bicycle; what matters is that its absense has a lasting effect on Antonio and the police (a product of the government) could care less. That bicycle was to be a "way out" of the streets for him, as it provided him work and allowed his family to eat. At the film's end, however, Antonio is seen walking hopelessly through the streets among the others, proving that the government has robbed him of his freedom. This is completely different from the Antonio who sits to the side and refuses to beg for a job that we see at the beginning of the movie.

Paige Brinkmann