Vittoria De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (1948) is a film that reflects Italian neorealism. In this film, we follow Antonio Ricci, the main character, during his search for his stolen bike. But what makes a neorealist film? Neorealism is commonly referred to as a film movement characterized by stories that are set amongst the poor, working class, focusing in common problems of ‘real life’. But, one should ask himself what the ‘neo’ in ‘neorealism’ stands for. What is so real about Italian Neorealism? How does it differentiate itself from Hollywood Classicism? And are the two genres really that different from each other? To answer these questions, this paper explores how neorealism arose and attempts to present the innovative and new elements of Italian Neorealism. First, I will introduce the concept of Italian Neorealism and discuss the nature and rise of the artistic movement. Second, I examine the primary elements and characteristics ascribed to Italian Neorealism and representations of it in Bicycle Thieves. I will then compare these to the use of realism in that of Hollywood Classicism. Lastly, I illustrate via a shot-by-shot analysis the significant specific elements of Italian Neorealism in one scene from Bicycle Thieves, which film, I argue, exists as one of the most acute examples of Italian Neorealism and therefore can be seen as Italian Neorealism at its finest. The final aim of the shot-by-shot analysis is not only to (visually) present the key elements of Italian Neorealism, but to apply the theoretical framework to analyze the change and to examine how different key factors contribute to the rise of a different film genre.
Italian Neorealism
The Rise of Italian Neorealism
When studying Italian Neorealism, and enabling one to identify key elements, it is important to take a closer look at what exactly ‘Italian Neorealism’ entails, and how it emerged. By the 1950’s, ‘Italian Neorealism’ had not yet clearly been defined. Namely, there had not yet been a clear constructed picture or program on ‘Italian Neorealism; there had only been an appeal for “greater realism and an emphasis on contemporary subjects and the life of the working class” (Thompson & Bordwell, 2003). However, some scholars came up with different ideas: one explained Italian Neorealism as a ‘committed reportage, calling for reform’, another emphasized the moral dimension of the film, and the last position argued that the documentary approach was mainly focused on the beauty of ordinary life (Thompson & Bordwell, 2003).
Next to the concept of Italian Neorealism, the rise of Italian Neorealism must also be further explained. Once Italy had been liberated, people were looking for ways to break with the past. By 1945, most of the Cinecittà (government) studios had been destroyed or heavily damaged (Thompson & Bordwell, 2003). As a result, Italian filmmakers did not have the resources, such as sets, camera and sound equipment.
This brings us to some of the key elements of Italian Neorealism: 1) Neorealist mise-en-scène relied on ‘real’ location shooting, mainly outdoors and in the streets or countryside. This meant that Italian camera operators had to adapt to the surroundings, but it also gave them more freedom to move. In addition, it led to a different cinematography, with many long shots, deep focus, and long takes. 2) The filmmakers also believed they had some sort of ethical responsibility to promote the social change that had just occurred post war, by using the means of cinema. Ideally, it wasn’t so much about the storyline of the film, but more about making the public aware of the difficulties of everyday life. Hence, a focus on ‘real life’ where, unlike Classic Hollywood, no single person can change the world; there are no heroes. So, the strength of Italian Neorealism lies in the documenting style and string of events of normal life. 3) Also, the roles in Neorealist films are often portrayed by non-professional actors. This is different from Classic Hollywood cinema, where roles are portrayed by professional actors.
Bicycle Thieves and Neorealism vs Classic Hollywood
Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (1948) reflects Italian neorealism at its finest. The movie covers topics associated with Neorealism, such as poverty and difficult economic and social circumstances. Bicycle Thieves tells the story of the Ricci family, who were deeply affected by the war in any aspect of their lives: emotionally, socially, and financially. In these tough financial times, Antonio finally finds himself a job, but he needs a bike to go to work. He then begins work, only to have his new bike stolen on his first day. The rest of the film follows Antonio and his son on their quest to find his stolen bike, and the audience is taken on a journey with them, experiencing the same frustration and desperation.
The film perfectly captures the failures and injustices of society. As Antonio never achieves his goal, the audience sees him going through a process of change. First, his character is portrayed as an honest, hard-working man. However, near the end of the film, he threatens to kill people, becomes hostile toward his son, and he himself attempts to steal a bike. So, in contrast to many classical Hollywood movies, there is no happy ending and Antonio’s life continues to go on a downward spiral: he has failed.
Bicycle Thieves also departs from Classic Hollywood especially within its narrative structure. Namely, the film contains many incidents that are not (directly) relevant to the base story of the father and son tracking down the thief who stole the bike. Furthermore, apart from the theft of the bicycles, there is little to none dramatic action or conflict. Antonio spends a lot of time doing other things, living ‘real life’, and thus, according to the Classical Hollywood Narrative, he wastes time that he should be spending on finding his bike. As a result, the viewer feels that he is watching real life happening right before our eyes; the viewer watches the father and son walking around, eating dinner, sheltering from the rain or sitting on the sidewalk in despair. The film is a sequence or string of incidents rather than a tight chain of cause and effect of Classic Hollywood storytelling.
Even though Antonio Ricci may carry some characteristics of a classical Hollywood protagonist, because he is a “goal-driven protagonist whose desires determine the cause-effect ordering of the plot” (Thompon & Bordwell, 2003), the timing of the film, the cinematography, mise-en-scène, identifiability and social and political message make him so much more than a Classical Hollywood protagonist.
Shot-by-shot Analysis (6:23-8:46)
One of the scenes that best portrays the Neorealist key elements is when Antonio and his wife, Maria (both non-professional actors), go to the pawnshop (on-location) to pawn their sheets so that they can afford Antonio’s bicycle. This scene advances the plot of the film, while emphasizing the family’s poverty, everyday struggleful life of the working class.
The film dissolves from a scene in Antonio and Maria’s family house directly to an over the shoulder, medium close-up shot of Maria at the pawnshop’s window. A long que of other customers is partly visible behind Maria. Then follows a quick shot-reverse-shot of medium-close-up between the pawnbroker and Maria. Antonio pokes his head into the window followed by a shot from the pawnbrokers back instead of his POV. When the pawnbroker tells Maria and Antonio that he will pay them a little more for the sheets, there is a close-up of the couple’s faces, showing their relief. Consequently, an over the shoulder shot follows when the pawnbroker gives them the money, and we see the next customer approaching the window and putting down an object to pawn. We then see Antonio and the man whom he buys his bike from, (both POV, medium close-ups), framed by the tiny window. But then the camera moves behind the counter, leaving Antonio’s world constricted, until he receives his bike. A longer shot follows: as the bike man searches for the matching bike, another employee walks past him while carrying the pawned bedding. The camera tilts while representing Antonio’s gaze, following him into a large room full of shelves with sheets. When the employee ascends and climbs up the shelves, the camera pans up with him, revealing even more shelves. This is also a much longer take than the previous ones, perhaps emphasizing the many who are experiencing the same struggle as Antonio’s family. Followed one of the first long shots from the other side of the window, we see Antonio collecting his bike. This is done by showing a long take and long show at the common area, where the camera pans and shows the viewer the many others emphasizing again, the daily life of hard-working people, struggling to make money.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the vital movement of Italian Neorealism allowed Italian filmmakers to deliver a response to political and economic turmoil in aftermath of World War II. The primary differences between the Classical Hollywood cinema and the European, or more specifically Italian, style of movie making is that the latter was focused on making a social, political, and artistic statement about being in the world, whereas Classical Hollywood cinema was mainly focused on entertaining. In order to convey these statements and to promote social change, neorealist filmmakers relied on mise-en-scène based on on-location shooting with non-professional actors. Hence, putting the focus on ‘real life’ by using a documenting style and filming string of events, rather than using the Classic Hollywood ‘cause-effect’ scheme.
So, by applying the theory to a scene from Bicycle Thieves, we see that the key elements of Italian Neorealism really were ‘new’ to the classic films that were made before. The scene confronts us with the struggle of average people and daily life: all presenting a hard-luck story, conveys a ‘new reality’ we had not been confronted with before.