The Bicycle Thief
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The Real Italy Through the Eyes of Real Italians
Italy, among many other countries, was hard hit by WWII, and it is not surprising to see that the economy is still in dire circumstances when this movie was filmed in the late 1940s. Some of the economical situation could be a result of the fact that the market never fully recovered after WWI before Italy was faced with WWII stresses. This film shows an accurate depiction of the every day life of Romans in 1947. Because the film centers around one man and his family, it makes his hardships much more personal and it is easier to relate to the situation he is dealing with. The main themes of this movie and the time period in general are hopelessness and desperateness. The main character shows these effects of privation through his everyday life and altercations with society.
At the very beginning of the film, there is a mass of workers who are upset because none of them can find jobs. One of them even says he wants a job hanging up posters even though he is bricklayer. Antonio Ricci, the main character, is extremely excited to be given a job, even though it is not long term or for much pay. This shows how hard jobs are to find. With an economy that is as bad off as Italys, it is obvious why jobs are so scarce. While he is working Riccis bicycle is stolen. Even though he attempts to chase down the thief, he never sees his bicycle again. Later in the film he once again sees the thief on the bicycle and begins to chase him. This shows how important the bicycle is to him. Ricci seems to always be chasing what he cannot have, the bicycle, a good job, happiness, and money. Ricci believes he is “cursed from birth” and that nothing can go correctly in his life. This feeling goes along with the hopelessness of the time period. The fact that Ricci is so determined to get his bicycle back shows how desperate he is for this job. His son is already working a job and their family has little to no money.
Even though this film is taking place after the war, Riccis wife still takes it upon herself to find the family some money. This is a common theme from during the war when many women were expected to maintain the home and work jobs to bring money into the home. She is never shown working outside the home but she does sell all the familys sheets to get money for Ricci to buy the bicycle. This is obviously because the family is desperate for money. They have nowhere else to turn and no other choice but to sell their personal belongings.
In one scene, it seems as if everyone around Ricci is riding a bike, which makes his loss seem even worse, and leaves him looking and feeling hopeless. He tells his son that if he could get his bicycle back that “[they] could live again”. This implies that he is unsatisfied with the life they are living and wants to make it better for his family. At this point, Ricci feels he has nowhere else to turn so he goes to see a woman who claims to be able to tell the future. Early in the film, he criticizes his wife for going to see her so it is obvious that his desperation is getting the best of him. As the woman offers him no real advice, he is left to search the streets with his son. The effects of privation are making Ricci do things he would not normally do. There is a constant flow of people going to see the woman who can see the future, which implies that many people are feeling the desperation that Ricci is feeling. Society needs an elderly woman to tell them their future instead of being able to see what lies ahead of them. Not having a steady income and constantly being without basic needs