The Bicycle Thief
The Bicycle Thief by Vittorio De Sica is a movie that breaks the Hollywood aesthetic of beautiful people, fancy homes, and extensive wealth that only thrives in fantasy and sometimes-unconquerable dreams. It exploits the plight of working class individuals who live in what some may call ghettoes or over crowded cities. Standing outside of a government agency, men await the fates of their futures: will it be their day to get work or will they go home in defeat to tell their wives and children that they might not have enough money to eat? It is a travesty to envision a life that is lived moment to moment and the future holds no promise for a better tomorrow. It is striking to watch a movie that encapsulates the very heart of the working class. The audience is introduced to the movie's central character, Antonio. A man who is in search of a job and the one he receives requires a mode of transportation common in those days, a bicycle. The bicycle he owns is in a repair shop waiting for alterations to be done, but because of the lack of money his family has, he never acquired the opportunity to pay for it. He then journeys back home to his wife, his son, and his
"The Bicycle Thief is a searing allegory of the human condition, a caustic narrative of despair and hope, loss and redemption, poignantly told in subtle actions and spare words" (Acquarello, 1). A tribute to those that make up the bulk of society, to those almost always forgotten, and to those who are hardly recognized for the achievements they have made, The Bicycle Thief exemplifies the life that most people are accustomed to. Straying away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, with the exception of a cameo from Rita Hayworth, The Bicycle Thief dedicates itself to the real audience, the working class. First day on the job the bicycle gets stolen, crisis becomes the inevitable. Another plight of the working class individual, stolen goods are as good as gone and sold and money in someone else's pocket. This movie also showed the delineation between authority and common folk. Authority figures appeared beyond the reach of newborn to herald the good news, however, as all good things too good to be true there is a catch. Antonio tells his wife that he can have this beneficial job if he has a bicycle, translation: we need money to get the bike so I can work. Maria, his wife, decides to pawn their precious
Some common words found in the essay are:
De Sica, Bicycle Thief, Film Paper, bicycle thief, job bicycle, father son, plight class,
Approximate Word count = 826
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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