‘I’ve been cursed since the day I was born...’
Up until this month, most of my knowledge of Italian cinema came from the giallo horror movies of the 60s and 70s and spaghetti westerns. What with Life is Beautiful and now Bicycle Thieves crossed off, only the films of Fellini remain…
In post-war Italy, Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani) only wants to provide for his family. When his bicycle is stolen, his livelihood goes with it. Employing the help of various good Samaritans and his long suffering son Bruno (Enzo Staiola), Antonio embarks on an epic quest to retrieve his two-wheeled redemption.
Bicycle Thieves is beautifully shot with director Vittorio De Sica utilising chiaroscuro lighting to render the streets of Rome in stark black and white, but the story itself is perhaps a little too rudimentary. That being said, Maggiorani puts in a masterful performance and is at the heart of everything while Staiola brings a streetwise charm to Antonio’s son Bruno.
This is a classy and sophisticated film that is both visually striking and inventive, but it perhaps doesn’t deserve its reputation as a titan of Italian cinema despite its unusually forlorn conclusion. A good film, but not an essential one.