Please choose at least two features of neorealism that DeSica presents in the film that effectively convey the overall meaning of the film. Choose one five minute scene and analyze the scene through genre theory, using at least one quote from the articles I have given you. Utilize the Chandler article on genre theory that I have given you as well.
Minimum: 2 paragraphs.
Set amongst the poor, Bicycle Thieves (originally The Bicycle Thief), directed by Vittorio De Sica, shows the story of an impoverished family, particularly the father and son, looking for a stolen bicycle. Italian Neorealism is that of the Golden Age of Italian Cinema, and it is characterized by showing poorer subject matter (such as the proletariat), filmed on location, with lower budgets. This specific film meets all of these, so by definition is an Italian Neorealist film.
ReplyDeleteOne of the scenes I found really interesting was the scene where Antonio is looking to steal the bike, and he continues to contemplate it, looking paranoid from the bike to the crowd of people outside. The emotional response from this is that the audience should feel sympathetic for Antonio, but also dumbfounded, because of the many, more obvious targets for thievery, ie the bikes around the stadium. This scene really categorizes the entire film as Italian Neorealism because of it’s focus on the working class, it’s obviously filmed on location, and it doesn’t end happily, because of the ambiguously sad ending.
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ReplyDeleteOne feature of neorealism De Sica uses effectively in this film is the focus on the lower economic class. He really shows how much these people's lives were affected by money, and could probably be viewed as a semi-Marxist criticism. The focus on a lower-class family shows the hardship of the common people at the time - when his bike was stolen he had no way to make money. For those rich people stuffing their faces at the restaurant, they could easily enough just go buy a new one, but for the lower class, they're deeply impacted by it. I think the way he uses this really brings out the criticism of the social class setup that was in place, where the rich are able to live really comfortably, while the poor are stuck in a rut they can't get out of.
ReplyDeleteAnother characteristic used by De Sica of Italian Neorealist films that showed his criticism pretty well was the on-location filming. The on-location filming makes us feel that this is real (which it most definitely was) in a way that might not have the same effect in a studio. We know all of the people, extras, etc. are real and are living through this, and we know that we're not seeing an environment that's manipulated to look worse than it is, since they're showing the actual environment by filming on-location.
5 Min. Scene Genre Theory Analysis -
The scene where Bruno and his pop go to the restaurant, and they eat, see the rich people eating, the dad sorta grows up a little, etc. In Chandler's essay on the genre theory, he writes, "Contemporary theorists tend to describe genres in terms of 'family resemblances' among texts." Looking at other Italian Neorealist films, like that cool Rossellini one we watched in class (Rome: Open City [or something to that extent]), there's a common thread of sympathy towards the struggling working class, and distaste directed at the people who aren't struggling (the Germans in Rossellini's film, the fat, rich people eating in this one). Knowing that Italian Neorealist films generally have this in common, our expectations for this film and what it's about will tend to resemble what is common in other ones. It definitely influenced how I saw this one, because I don't think I would be totally convinced that it was criticizing class differences without assistance from other films of the same genre.
In DeSica's neorealist masterpiece Bicycle Thieves, he is able to portray the struggles of the common man in Italy with traditional neorealist techniques executed to perfection. Of the many ways that he uses techniques, one of the most proficient is the use of the common man in everyday life as extras in his film. Whether when Antonio's bike is being stolen in a crowded part of town, or when he is confronting the thief later, the crowds present are simply living their lives in the city, going with the flow. In the example of the confrontation, the crowd backs up the common man they know, not the one searching for his bike, because it is obvious that a strong sense of brotherhood was present in these slums. Later on as crowds fill the frame in order to chase Antonio for his bike, they are "brothers" with the bike's owner and therefore back him up. Another technique utilized by the director is how children are portrayed and focused on in neorealist cinema. Bruno’s consistent following of his father in his search for survival is representative of the lost nature present in Italy’s citizens during this time. The last scene in particular focuses on Bruno’s reaction to his father’s theft attempt, and this is the most telling usage. Bruno looks up to his father during the entire film but cannot make sense of his actions, and it is this major understanding of one another that is what DeSica means to focus on.
ReplyDeleteThe scene that I believe can be easily grouped with genre theory analysis is the last one, in which Antonio attempts to steal the bike, then fails and his son sees his father setting a bad example. This scene perfectly encapsulates the movement of neorealism, which I alos consider to be a genre. In Chandler’s essay, the follwoing is said on the classification of films into genres vs. just classifying in general “The classification and hierarchical taxonomy of genres is not a neutral and 'objective' procedure. There are no undisputed 'maps' of the system of gen- res within any medium (though literature may per- haps lay some claim to a loose consensus). Further- more, there is often considerable theoretical dis- agreement about the definition of specific genres. A genre is ultimately an abstract conception rather than something that exists empirically in the world,” This quote is important because it helps define genre as something inherently important to the viewer, not to the world around. In order to better understand a work, genres create blocks to place films into.
DeSica’s “Bicycle Thieves” embodies Italian Neorealism by thematically focusing on the middle class and using locational sets over designed sets. Daniel Chandler states in the final paragraph of his essay “An Introduction to Genre Theory” “Some film genres tend to defined primarily by their subject matter... some by their setting and others by their narrative form.” and frankly, the genre of Italian Neorealism is a study of subject matter. The final scene of Bicycle Thieves is very profound, and encompases these two primary elements of Italian Neorealism. The final scene identifies the struggle of the middle class, as the main protagonist, Antonio Ricci, has a literal struggle that embodies the overall concept— Antonio will have to come to level with the thief who stole his bike in order to keep his job. Up to this point in the text, Antonio has been a good role model in the public eye, as he goes to the authorities in order to retrieve his stolen bike. He then takes matters into his own hands as he pursues who he thought stole his bike, but evidently can’t support the accusation. In his final moment, Antonio decides to steal a bike like the man before him so he can feed his family. However, he is then caught and shamed by the upper class in his wrongdoing. Although Antonio’s intentions were good, he succumbs to the repetition of thievery in the lower class society.
ReplyDeleteLocation filming is another quintessential form of Italian Neorealism. It’s apparent that the final scene is filmed outdoors on the streets of Rome, and the location is emphasized by distance in wide angle shots. We see a compilation of stone architecture reminiscent of Italian history and massive crowds of people only possible by filming the public. Although there are major difficulties staging a film on public streets, it reflects the society existing within the genre in an accurate light.
One thing that Italian neorealism emphasizes is the use of major child roles and the focus around the poor and working class. The scene I will be analyzing is the scene where Bruno and his father go to the restaurant and Bruno is taunted by what the girl has and what he doesn't. This scene represents neorealism and really emphasizes what this genre is all about. When they enter the restaurant the focus is around Bruno trailing behind his father and subsequently the shots following are an exchange between Bruno and a well of Daughter of high class citizens. The shot reverse shot builds tension in the fact that Bruno doesn't have and cannot have what that girl has due to the fact that he was to work to get what he can and makes sure it lasts. This creates a moment in time that shows the intensity of the film and why the dad needs his bike back. The bike is the way that he can bridge the gap between them and the high class. But, because he cannot find the bike they are stuck below this girl. The father wants his son to seem just like everyone else and this may be his major drive for being so intense about finding his bike. It shows that Bruno is really the intelligent one in the story because he is the central character and while he wants and desires what the upper class has, he doesn't pretend that he can enjoy the same virtues. He doesn’t ask for the fancy food he is treated to it because of his father’s desire to create a world for Bruno that isn’t realistic. This adds more onto Bruno’s character because he is being neglected emotionally by his father, money cannot buy Bruno’s love or the descent into the upper class. The bike isn’t going to bridge the gap. Another theme of neorealism deals with the moral issues and this scene represents the father’s corrupt morals and creates the genre of the movie. This quote by Chandler on genre theory provides an explanation of why the fact that it was filmed on site creates another explanation of why it falls under the Italian Neorealism Drama:
ReplyDeleteSteve Neale observes that 'genres... exist within
the context of a set of economic relations and practices',
Because of the economic times it created the practice of filming on site which eventually became a characteristic of an italian neorealism film.
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ReplyDeleteIn Desica's Bicycle Thieves, it is extremely evident through the cinematography and mise-en-scene the importance of transportation for people of the lower class. In Italian Neorealism one of the major characteristics is to explore the conditions of the impoverished and the lower working class, and to emphasize that survival is the primary objective. In the 1930’s Italy was undergoing a great depression as well as the spread of fascism so they simply did not have the money to produce the generic hollywood “white telephone films” so directors like Viconti and Desica wanted to convey the true life of the common man living in Italy during this time and they were successful in this process. Through countless long shots of bicycles we see that a bicycle is symbolic of the survival of a small family and it shows the audience what growing up in this time period was truly like which is one of the major aspects of Italian Neorealism. In the scenes after the bike is stolen we see long pans through the city streets of buses and very large groups of bicycles. Most shots we see of bicycles after the bike is stolen they are either medium length shots of the bicycles in motion, which creates suspense and shows how close Antonio is to his original bike and how the opportunity to not have his bike stolen literally slipped through his fingers. The other shots that are showing bikes no in motion always have the bikes centered in the frame or in very close proximity to Antonio and Bruno. The centered shots allude to the main focus and the center of Antonio's life, because without a bike he cannot support his family and the compilation of shots in the second half of the film serve to enforce that idea of survival.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect of Italian Neorealism that is conveyed through Bicycle Thieves is the use of children as major characters. From the moment we see Bruno cleaning the bicycle when he is filmed through the bike and is taking up the majority of the screen as Americans it's almost jarring to see such a strong child character who is so large on screen, but this shows a major characteristic of the movement. As the film progresses we see Bruno and his father almost switch roles. In the final scene where his father attempts to steal the bike Bruno's presence on screen deeply contrasts with his earlier shots. Before this action takes place Bruno is always shown in shots walking alongside his father, an example of this being right before the resuarant scene where Bruno and Antonio are walking down a path and they're shot in a medium shot so we can the the proportion of Bruno to his father and see just how small he is compared to his father whom he looks up to. I'm the final scene there are no medium length shots of Bruno, there are only close-up shots where he takes up the entire screen and appears larger than his father. In contrast, Antonio is filmed framed by the people trying to stop him and is shot in medium-long shots which make him appear to be smaller than his son which is exactly what Desica was trying to achieve.
The main theme in this film is the aspect of survival for the common man during this time period and how far someone will go to keep above water. Desica brilliantly conveyed this with the characterization of Bruno through close up shots as well as emphasizing the importance of a bicycle through countless long shots and the placements of bicycles in shots.
The key neo-realist aspects of DeSica’s Bicycle Thieves are its portrayal of the working class and its demonstration their struggle to survive in the world as it is, or was back then. The film tells the tale of a family struggling to get by in the slums of Italy. As we join them Antonio, the father, has just received a job although it doesn’t pay fabulously and he must find a way to get back his bike that he had pawned off he must accept. The struggle of the proletariat is beautifully portrayed primarily by the mob of other men of various ages that surround him hoping for job openings, their desperation is clear through their tattered outfits and the fact that they nearly trample Antonio for his work ticket when he hesitates for only a moment.
ReplyDeletePossibly the most important scene in the film that demonstrates these qualities is the final sequence of the film in which Antonio attempts to steal a bicycle that he believes is unattended. Antonio looks incredibly out of place on this street outside of a stadium, every person that passes him is dressed in cleaner and nicer clothing than he is. Joining that with the fact that he appears to be less clean than the other’s around him and it is clear that he is a man in desperation. This is then accentuated by the fact that he is considering committing the crime that was done to him quite possibly putting another in his desperate situation. When at the end of the scene Antonio is caught by the mob he is shamed for his actions by men of similar status, society has defiled a once innocent and honest man the proletariat is pitted against itself.