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Essay on Pure Cinema

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Italian Neo realism; Pure Cinema

1. Ladri de Biccilette [Bicycle Thieves] (Vittorio De Sica)

Do you agree with Andre Bazin that Ladri de Biccilette is an example of ‘pure cinema’? (Bazin [1971] p.60). To what extent is such a pure cinema possible and, in your opinion, which Italian Neo-realist film screened on the unit comes closest to it? Explain your reasoning.

This essay will address the characteristics of ‘pure cinema’ and the extent of its practical nature. It also seeks to analyse the film Ladri de Biccilette whilst exploring the traits of pure cinema in this film.
The definition of pure cinema refers to a cinema where real life is projected onto the screen in way that creates the illusion of reality. The more the
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A group of German priests joins them and start to talk in German, which again felt very accidental. The camera films everybody until the rain stops without a single cut, contributing to this aspect of 'dead' time.

Ladri de Biccilette is a very successful film in creating natural and believable moments. While the worker and his son are off searching for the bicycle, there is moment where the child tries to urinate in street. This is an indication of profound realism, where even examples of the most private behaviour and dialogue are shared with the audience. The connection between the worker and his son is one of the most natural relationships existing in this film. Poverty almost closes the gap between the worker and his child, as the father does not have money and education to make him considerably superior. The family needs to send the young child to work and the worker needs his help and company to search for his bicycle. The dialogue between the father and son is like dialogue between two adults. The worker talks about their income and his strategies to attempt to improve their lives, while the son criticizes his dad when he created a situation which caused the old man to run away. The most important part of the film is the last scene, where local people catch the worker as he runs away with the stolen
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