Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Writers: Cesare Zavattini, Luigi Bartolini
Stars: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell
Runtime: 89 mins
Plot: Set in Italy, after World-War 2, a proletariat man's bicycle is stolen and the man along with his son sets out to find it.
Review: A poor man named Antonio is ecstatic to find out that he is finally offered a job of putting up movie posters. In order to do this job he needs a bicycle and so his wife mortgages everything they have to redeem the bicycle that he already places as collateral. During his first day at work the bicycle gets stolen and Antonio leaves everything behind to go on a frantic chase through the streets of Rome with his son Bruno.
The father-son duo creates grand moments in various crowds including in a market, in the streets and in a church. The crowd naturally starts complaining and commenting on the duo and amplifying their misery and humiliation.
The movie has been given an honorary Oscar in 1949 and is consistently voted one of the greatest movies ever. Bicycle Thieves is admired as one of the founding pillars of Italian neorealism. The movie is written by Cesare Zavattini, who has been involved with many of the prominent directors from 1940-1970. The story is so direct that it appears as a fable at times rather than a drama.
The movie is an indiscreet work of art and captures the natural despair of a poor man in an unprecedented way, giving the movie enough reason to be crowned a typical neorealism film.
Source: Internet
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