Ignorance In The Bicycle Thieves

De Sica’s film Bicycle Thieves was egarded as one of the neorealist films’ masterpiece. This film was released in 1948, where Italy was still striving for the reconstruction of the society. Under this time background, the film was highly realistic. He portrayed Italy’s real socio-economic conditions in the post-war period by using a cutting-point of a father Antonio and his son Bruno. In the film, the harsh living of Italians was exposed under the camera (e.g. lack of jobs and foods, destroyed infrastructure) and brought out reflections on morals and ethics. The following comments from different authors would reveal the implications behind the scenes.

Set in the depression times of post-World War II Italy, Graziadei and De Sica’s (1948) The Bicycle Thief narrates the story of Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani), who, after finding a job as a bill poster, loses his bicycle to a young thief. He tries to look for it with his son Bruno (Enzo Staiola); however, despite seeing the thief, he fails to recover his bicycle. Desperate, he tries to steal a bike himself but is easily thwarted by a group of bystanders. They plan to bring him to the police station until the owner notices the weeping Bruno and, in an act of compassion, ask others to release the thief. In this paper, I argue that The Bicycle Thief

Often, throughout works of great literature there are many violent scenes throughout the course of the story. However, these scenes of violence don’t exist for their own sake, but instead they add value and depth to the story being told. The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak, is no exception to this statement. Throughout the story there are many violent scenes and all of them add meaning and theme to the story as a whole. In this story in particular, the violent acts show how a cruel, Nazi, fascist society responds to the acts of human kindness. This contributes to the overall meaning of the story, that even in the darkest times, kindness can exist even when surrounded by hate and evilness. The violent scenes in The Book Thief help to display the themes of human kindness, power of words, and

Instead, they intend to reflect how real life is truly like and leave the audience to interpret the ending or the entire film on their own. In The Bicycle Thieves, the final scene is shows Antonio and his son holding hands in tears, as they blend into the mass of anonymous people walking down the street, defeated by poverty. Antonio’s shoulder gets blatantly hit by the vehicle that is driving through the middle of the crowd, but numbed by powerlessness, he does not react. The camera watches the two solemnly walk away with the crowd and into an uncertain

	Another fine example of neorealism is The Bicycle Thief (1948), written by Cesare Zavattini and directed by Vittorio De Sica. The narrative of this film unfolds in post-W.W.II times. The film is a portrait of the post-war Italian disadvantaged class (the majority) in their search for self-respect. It is a time of struggle for the Italian people, amplified by a shortage of employment and lack of social services. In the first scenes of the film, these conditions are evident as Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorami) meets his spouse Maria (Lianalla Carell) on his way back home. We see the "men" arguing at the employment "office" as the "women" argue about the shortage of water. Although the director's

The novel is presented as a coming-of-age story in which the protagonist grows and develops as he experiences the tragedies of life. Other important themes of the novel is the question of sin and morality and the loss of innocence. At the beginning of the novel, Antonio is only six years old and very much a child in terms of understanding and innocence. Throughout the course of the novel, however, Antonio is exposed to events that force him to lose his innocence such as the death of Lupito by the river, Narciso’s murder by Tenorio, Florence’s accidental drowning, and Ultima’s death. Antonio must learn to balance this loss of innocence in order to become mature and follow his own path in life. Eventually, he is able to overcome his anxieties and realizes that a life of faith and a life of action are mutually incompatible. Because this loss of innocence is a crucial element of the novel and Antonio’s development as a character, the novel would not be as connecting if he were older. Antonio’s older brothers are already beyond this age of self-awareness, and it is important that Antonio is both self-aware and susceptible to change as an

Bicycle Thieves gave viewers a clear view of crisis of masculinity within Antonio and this was further highlighted with the presence of a protagonist child in the film. In the film we see Antonio’s struggle to save his expected capability to provide for his family as a man (Ruberto & Wilson). However, the fact that Bruno was employed at the time Antonio got himself a job pointed out his incapability as a man and viewers starts to see Bruno as a small man rather than just a child because he was seemingly adequate

This scene is important as it comes midway into the play, marking a turning point, that drives the action towards the tragic end. The scene opens with all three characters relaxed and in a playful mood, but there is an underlying tension that builds throughout the scene with an uneasy sense of insecurity, which is felt by the Duchess as she is aware that her brother has returned to court. The tension continues to increase, with the use of dramatic irony, where the audience is aware of information that the actors on stage do not have. The atmosphere soon shifts from a light hearted one to one of fear. The Duchess, Antonio

Also before his three brothers return from the war. When the war ended the three brothers are traumatized and they were restless to become independant. The outside of his house is very dangerous and is very open. His brothers León and Eugene urge him to enter the brothel in his dreams about the outside world. At his uncle’s house, it is very calm and they urge his mother María to send him to them for the summer before he gets “lost.” All these worlds overlap to create the enviroment Antonio lives in. The environment can shape what a developing child would become. God and morality shaped Antonio through what he believed before and what he saw. From what’s he’s seen his morality changes rapidly and his belief in God as a divine being, that god does not forgive. Our sense of God and belief in right and wrong shapes us by our decisions in life. From our morality we can choose to do what we think is right or wrong. Its an ability we possess to create who we

Antonio’s acceptance of beliefs that are condemned by his religion conveys the novel’s theme of truth being subjective. Before learning of Florence’s death, Antonio is eager to share the legend of the golden carp with his friend, “Florence needed at least one god, and I was sure he would believe in the golden

To support this idea, Bordwell illustrates how art cinema motivates its narratives differently, through two principles: realism and authorial expressivity. Firstly he proposes the notion that art films reflect realism in their characters, space, and time. Psychologically complex characters are present in real worlds dealing with true-to-life situations. Art cinema is concerned with the characters ‘reaction’ to these situations, rather than their ‘action’. Thus it bares an element of psychological subjectivity as the characters survey the world they are in, which aids the realisation of the distress of

In Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion, the play of light and shadow are reoccurring motifs that identify and relate to the general themes of remembering and forgetting. H. Porter Abbott has defined motif as “a discrete thing, image, or phrase that is repeated in a narrative”, where in contrast, a theme “is a more generalized…concept that is suggested by… motifs” (237). Abbott emphasizes that “Themes are implicit in motifs, but not the other way around” (95). In In the Skin of a Lion, Ondaatje emphasizes the class struggles endured by the immigrant workers and the internal struggles faced by the central characters. The motif of chiaroscuro, the play of light and shadow, reflects how the characters try to forget their past and personal burdens, and strive to recall joyful memories, which aides them in embracing new beginnings and creating new memories. I will argue that the motif of light relates to the theme of remembering and the motif of shadow identifies with the theme of forgetting. I will show these relationships by analyzing the imagery and context of four central scenes in which light and shadow play a significant role. Firstly, I will discuss the event of the nun falling off the unfinished bridge. Secondly, I will consider the candle-light vigil held for the deceased bridge works. Thirdly, I will discuss the working conditions of the tunnel workers in the section “Palace of Purification”, and lastly, I will analyze the concluding scene in which Patrick and Hana

This paper will draw analysis of the film in the view of its genre, plot, themes and contexts from the movie itself and various scholarly articles. The film will be analysed drawing lessons and historical contexts of the Roman Empire and the 1st Century. Lastly, this paper will offer an

For the many Arizona State University student and staff members who own a bicycle, there is no greater concern than having it stolen from them. Thousands of Sun Devils on the Tempe, Arizona campus possess a bike for the sole purpose of conveniently going to and from classes, not to mention their jobs as well. Bikes are expensive, and when one is stolen from a student it not only breaks their bank, it can also cause them to miss a class or be late to work. Combatting this crime has been historically difficult for ASU’s police department, who owns the problem of bike theft on the Tempe, Downtown Phoenix, West, and Polytechnic campuses. In the history of Arizona State

i think that when the actors were stealing the bike the people walking by were being sexist, stero typing, and racist. When the white guy actor was trying to steal the bike nobody stopped him. They asked if it was his and he said no, but they still didn't stop him. When the black guy actor was trying to steal the bike somebody stopped him in the first minute. When the first person yelled at him to stop a lot of other people rushed over. When the young white girl actor was stealing the bike nobody stopped her in fact mostly all of them (guys) helped her steal the bike. I think this was sexist because when the girl was stealing the bike people helped her steal it, but when the white, or black guy were stealing it they both got stopped and