The Bicycle Thief

Long time no see, dedicated readers! It's been a while since I've posted, but I've still been watching movies (well, some of them off of my list... some of them not). Now it's time to play a little game of catch up in the blog posting arena.

I watched The Bicycle Thief about two weeks ago now I think, but it was so fantastic and memorable I think I can pull off writing a post about it so much later. 

Why is The Bicycle Thief on my list you may ask? Well, it appears on most lists listing movie greats! How does it fit in with the whole attempted pop culture theme of this blog post, you may ask? Well, let me tell you, dear reader, but according to an NPR interview, The Bicycle Thief happens to be Mr. Woody Allen's favorite flick. So, since Woody Allen is one of my favorite filmmakers, I had to see his favorite film, in hopes of discovering the inspiration to his unique comedy films.

Note: the fact that The Bicycle Thief is Woody Allen's favorite movie is the ONLY piece of information I went in with when I popped in the DVD. So, I expected something similar to Woody Allen, or at least something funny.

Note to future viewers of The Bicycle Thief: this movie is NOT a funny movie. It is a GREAT movie, but it is not a FUNNY movie. 

Now that I think about it, my expectations of the film and what the actual movie turned out to be was the opposite of my expectations and the actual film Ninotchka. Ninotchka I expected a dramatic spy movie and got a hilarious comedy and with The Bicycle Thief I expected a hilarious comedy and got a tale of crushed hope in the middle of the Italian depression. I would say that maybe I should do more research before I start watching a movie, but it really just adds to the wonderfulness sometimes. [Like, when I saw Napoleon Dynamite, I thought it was going to be an epic war movie because all I knew about it was the title (which sounds pretty violent to me) and a screenshot I saw when they're hiding in the grass to give Summer her cake (obviously the rifles I could've sworn I saw in their hands as they faced death in this World War I/II epic was purely imagined). This grossly inaccurate misconception made the awkward comedy and foodie opening credits so much better.]

But, for those of you who like to know a little bit about a movie before they go through the trouble of watching it, I shall give a bit of background. The Bicycle Thief made in 1948 depicts the struggle for Italians to get back on their feet after losing the second world war. This neorealistic film certainly isn't made as an escape from the times, but rather a snapshot of the worst. The inciting incident happens right away in the film, when Antonio gets a highly sought after job (not that the particular job is highly sought after but that any job is highly sought after), and it is made clear to him that he needs his bicycle in order to take the job. This requires a bit of sacrifice. He has a bike, but it needs to be repaired, and in order to do so, his wife sells the family's sheets. However, he doesn't get it for long. As anyone could guess from the title, his bicycle gets stolen on the first day on the job. Unemployment and hunger hanging over his head, he and his son search for the bike in the enormous city of Rome.

A seemingly simple plot, the film is full of layers. It's not just about a bicycle; it's a comment on survival in society, on morals and on human nature. Therein lies its brilliance: the films ability to take the simple idea of someone stealing a bicycle and making it complex, emotional and intense. 

Of the movies on my list I have seen thus far... The Bicycle Thief is my favorite. In fact, I may watch it again before the summer is out, I liked it so much. The depth of the characters, the realism, the composition of the shots, Vittorio de Sica's brilliance... all are reasons why They Bicycle Thief is climbing towards the top of my favorite movies list.

And I'm not just saying that because I want to be like Woody Allen.

COMING SOON: ... Alien. Okay, I skipped a couple on my list...