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ESSAYS, ARTICLES, AND THEORIES ABOUT CINEMA
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| Monday, May 4, 2009
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THE BICYCLE THIEF (1948) |
 Vittorio De Sica opens the city gates of Rome and invites the audience into a world of pain, sorrow, love and human connection in The Bicycle Thief (1948). This film brought neorealism full circle with a visual representation of life, symbolized through the film’s main strength – mise-en-scene. There are two elements that stand out more than others. First, is the setting, with its powerfully broad statement of isolation? Antonio and Bruno explore a city once filled with hope and aspiration, but now is scarred by the impact of war. By shooting on location in Rome, the audience feels like tourists, walking along the city, and even following Antonio as he becomes engulfed in madness. There are no sets, no backgrounds, nothing fake to distort the truth from the reality of a city in ruins. The city is itself becomes another character, something living, breathing, and even communicating to Antonio. Several scenes have Antonio and Bruno walking through the city framed in long shots. This shows how small, literally and metaphorically, the characters are in the city, not to mention in the world. The city is a mirror, reflecting the struggle and hardship Antonio exhibits as he searches for the bicycle. By looking throughout the city, he is actually searching deep within his soul, therefore the setting provides the audience with an emotional connection with Antonio.  
Another important element of mise-en-scene within the film is the staging.There are many examples of this element. One in specific is shown in the scene where Bruno tells Antonio he is hungry and is tired of walking around. Antonio, overwhelmed with sheer frustration, slaps his child. This comes off completely as a shock to Bruno, Antonio and even the audience. This horrific act causes Bruno to walk away from his father. At the same time, Antonio runs after his son and reconciles by taking Bruno out for pizza. At the restaurant, Bruno comes in contact with another child, sitting at another table, filled with multiple plates of food. Upon desiring the life of this other boy, Antonio informs the boy that to eat like him, it would cost a lot of money. Bruno stops eating all of a sudden and places his bread back on the plate. This spontaneous reaction implicates a sadness of rejecting the life he has because he cannot have the one he wants. Bruno insists the boy eat and refrain from thinking about it. Bruno happily continues eating. The scene proposes to illustrate sadness and happiness within the actions displayed by the characters. Bruno is sad for not having more, but then is happy upon realizing what he does in fact have.This is a real human emotion that everyone possesses. And finally, after stealing the bike and being harassed by the mob, Bruno fights through the people to hang onto his father. Once he reaches Antonio, a hand quickly slaps Antonio’s face. He looks down and sees his son. The slap, just like before when he slapped Bruno, serves as a stern wakeup call. The expression on his face alone emits the feeling of sorrow. He not only sees the consequences of his actions, but also realizes that he has become the very nature that brought him into this mess – a thief.
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posted by Will Lewis 12:04 PM
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