This statement by director/actor Victorio De Sica exemplifies typical Italian neorealist mentality. In 1948 De Sica collaborates with screenwriter and theoretical founder of neorealism, Cesare Zavattini to create Ladri di Biciclette (The Bicycle Thief). The film is set just after World War I. After being out of work for two years Antonio Ricci is offered a job hanging movie posters, provided he has a bicycle to use as transportation. He and his wife, Maria, pawn the linen sheets to pay for the bicycle that is eventually stolen on his first day at work, Friday. With his son Bruno by his side, Antonio must find the bicycle before Monday or he'll lose his job. Along with its universal themes, this film is one of the premier films of the Italian Neorealist movement of the late 1940s. While the cinematic effects and storytelling of The Bicycle Thief support the themes and style of the film, they also reveal the influence of

The Bicycle Thief is often seen as one of the "outstanding films produced during the height of neorealism between 1945 and 1952" (Beaver 256). The cinematography and storytelling of this film demonstrate the neorealist style. When Antonio and Bruno stop to eat lunch, and find themselves sitting next to the table of a rich family, the camera work of De Sica captures the "social consciousness" that characterizes neorealism (Beaver 255). When Bruno glances off to the little rich boy the camera angle is pointing upwards towards the rich child, almost creating a pedestal for the rich family's table to rest on. Then a close-up shot of Antonio captures the notion that he wishes he could give his family such economic stability; this notion is affirmed when Antonio begins to fantasize aloud to Bruno about the money he could earn through the new job if he had his bicycle. The other major aspects of neorealism this film captures are the simple story of a common life individual, characters played by nonactors, and the movie being filmed on location (Cook 431). Beyond its representative and definitive relationship with neorealism, this film is also influenced by filmmaking techniques of other cultures as well.

2. Cook, David A. A History of Narrative Film 3rd ed., W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1996.

Despite Battleship Potemkin being a silent film, the expressive nature of the acting is also evident in The Bicycle Thief. Since the characters in De Sica'a film are played by nonactors it can be assumed that their onscreen portrayals were directed as such. In one particular scene Antonio and Bruno are standing against a wall to cover themselves from the rain; others are there too with the same idea. Bruno and Antonio stand silently while the others around them are chattering around them, as if talking through them. One shot shows a close-up Bruno looking up at the numerous bodies, of which we only see the torsos, and up at his father who is staring out into the rain. After spending many hours searching for the bicycle, now even nature seems to be against Antonio. In the version of the film with English subtitles there were no words for about 2 minutes except for the visibly evident chattering spoken in Italian that wasn't in the subtitles. This scene could have just as easily been in a silent film and little to nothing would have been lost in the film. The Soviet Expressionist movement influences this visual narrative of the film.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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