The Bicycle Thieves: Film Analysis

For this writing workshop, I will use three critical approaches to discuss the film, The Bicycle Thieves (De Sica, 1948). Of the six approaches, I chose the “National Cinemas”, “Auteur”, and “Ideology” approaches. The “National Cinemas” approach to analyzing film takes into account the culture and national characteristics that influence how a narrative is filmed. To understand and fully appreciate a film, one must understand the historical and cultural conditions that surround it. The writer must distinguish what makes a particular film different from those of another culture from the same time period (Corrigan, 2015).
The Bicycle Thieves (De Sica, 1948) is an example of Italian neorealism which was popular for a short time after World War II. The war devastated Italy and poverty was commonplace. The studios were destroyed so filming in the streets was imperative which partly gave rise to neo realism partially. Film from this era abruptly contrasts with American films of the same time period. Neo-realism avoids artifice and instead emphasizes an almost documentary style of filmmaking. While Hollywood relies on studios, professional actors, scripts, and heavily edited shots, De Sica uses exterior locations, long unedited shots, …show more content…
His film comments on the wide-spread poverty that he sees around him. He provides the viewer with the details of everyday life in the community by showing the church of the poor, the pawn shop, the employment office, the street market of stolen goods and the fortune teller’s home. These captivating places communicate the experiences of the poor. De Sica doesn’t judge the cellar band, the garbage men, the sidewalk sweepers, the fortune teller and the character, Ricci. He understands that they endured the war and now must live by any means necessary. His film gives us glimpse into Italy’s reality during this time period (Hirvonen,