So much for my happy ending...

Michael Kera

In class we discussed how neorealism followed the mundane routines of ordinary people. I think that is gobbly-gook. In all seriousness could this movie have actually happen, yes. Are the events in this movie real? Yes. I read a scriptwriting book and the author posed the question would you go see a movie about a guy who is happily married, has a good job, and great kids? No. Because the premise of the movie would be. Guy wakes up, Wife made breakfast, guy goes to work, guy comes home, guy eats dinner, guy goes to bed, and the cycle starts again. Would you honestly go see that movie? I wouldn't. There needs to be action. In Bicycle Thief's case; poor man gets a job, but dilemma he needs a bicycle to have the job. So the family pawns some sheets to get money for a bike. First day on the job, the man's bike is stolen. He has to find the bike to keep his job. He becomes desperate. He smacks his son. He accuses some young man of stealing his bike and causes an uproar. He eventually tries to steal someone else's bike. End movie, a failure. Real people can have movie moments without being an undercover assassin or a psycho killer. Shit happens.

Real people. Real problems. Using non professional actors can sometimes give a sense of realism. Finding a real person with real problems work. Everyone is an actor. If you find someone real who has gone though the situation of the character you are placing him or her into comes easier. We talked about actors in class once; there are method actors and character actors. Method actors try to experience what their character has experienced, like Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, and then Character Actors like Sarah Michelle Geller who I cannot separate from Buffy. If you find a father with no job and two children to feed, and that is your character, desperation should come easier to him than Mr. Monopoly.

I would say most of that movie was shot on-location. Since the genre follows normal people, you would have to be on location for the shoots. But now, if you wanted to shoot something like this, you would need permits, money, and connections; unless you were using your house. I don't know how it was back in that time period, but now a days it is difficult to shoot in a church, even for a wedding. The service probably was not a real service, but I am curious to know if it was actually shot in a church or on a set.