The Bicycle Thief

Every own film history has its own film arts. It might be different when due to different kind of generation era. So films that are produced within a particular period or nation might share a significant traits of style and form. There are many types of film arts, for example, early cinema, the development of the classical hollywood cinema, German expressionism, french impressionism, Italian Neorealism and etc. Italian neorealism is originated after the world war II, it devastated the national cinemas tremendously and affecting the economic stability of the cinemas industries. Now we look at the film that included the terms of Italian Neorealism. The first film that considered as Italian Neorealism is Rome, Open City. But the film that we discussed is "The Bicycle Thief" which is related to neorealism too. Italian Neorealism came after World War II ended and the Italian government fell, causing the Italian film industry to lose its center. Neorealism was a sign of cultural change and social change in Italy. Its films presented contemporary stories and ideas, and were often shot in the streets because the place for them to shoot had been damaged significantly during the war.

Neorealism  can be seen as an improvement on classic realism. Neorealism conveys an aspects of relations as the deepest cause of power struggles where the filmmakers had created the central force conflict in the film among the characters, rather than merely a permissive one as realism. Neorealism distinguish itself from that classic realism by rejecting finding famous and professional actor. The filmmaker in neorealism preferred actor that are not professional to show how the realistic life that face and live by the normal people in the life. It enhance the narrative storytelling using mise-en-shot and mise-en-scene. After the World War II devastated the national cinemas, it affect the economic stability of the cinema industries. In neorealism, normally the mise-en-shot is long takes. Long takes means use one long shot to show how it the long takes make it more realistic. In neorealism, the filmmakers use real people and locations to so directly and make a relation to established with the contemporary social reality.

The synopsis of "The Bicycle Thief" is talking about a guy named as Antonio Ricci, an ordinary man who has been unemployed for quite a long time and he receives a job putting up posters throughout the city but the terms and conditions is that he needs to has his own bicycle in order to get the job from the leader who assign job. So he ran back to his home and tel his wife about he getting a new job but he got to has his own bicycle. His wife then sells her dowry linens so that his husband, Antonio Ricci able to get a bicycle from the shop and start works as labor who putting up the posters throughout the city. During his first day on the job, while he is climb on the stairs and starts working, the bicycle is stolen by someone. So he starts chasing the thief but he can't get to snatch him. In the mid and the ending of the drama is keep on talking about how adventurous he find the bicycle thief together with his son,Bruno and he feel hopeless.

Most neorealism films are generally filmed with nonprofessional actors. One of the features of showing The Bicycle Thief is an Italian Neorealism is because its use of non-professional actors. As what I study online, Lamberto Maggiorani,who plays Antonio Ricci was originally a factory worker. Lianella Carell, who plays Ricci's wife, was originally a journalist whom the filmmakers met when she asked him for an interview. For the son, Bruno who plays by Enzo Staiola was found during watching the shoot. In keeping with the use of ‘real people’, their conversation of everyday is conversational speech rather than literary dialogue was used. Neorealism films often feature children in major roles, though their characters are frequently real as they do not know anything just be like their own self in their childhood time. Children also feature prominently in Neorealism films, due to the innocent, untainted object on what they see in neorealism films. In this films there are only one the of the professional actor on it whom is the one who assign job to the people who surrounded on him and also the one who starts to have conversation between Antonio Ricci and him.

They are shot almost on location, mostly in run-down cities as well as rural areas due to its forming during the post-war era, no longer being constrained to a studio sets location and is also due to the topic idea of what it is the real life that live among the poor and the lower working class. The focus is on a simple social class of people who live in rural, poor and suffer in everyday life. In the bicycle thief, all of the locations that been using are more on post war locations and also old buildings and new buildings together as the city slowly recover after the World War II. When Antonio Ricci back home to tell his wife that he might get a job if he has a bicycle, the on set locations is full of collapsed road and buildings and and also have lots of factories. The people during that time are socially conscious on humanistic as people just don’t care about it, people just scare about society as we can seen in "The Bicycle Thief" films. Besides that, it possesses a melodramatic aspects, some kind of emo styles while he is depress on finding his bicycle.

In conclusion, Italian Neorealism provides us an example of Realist life filmmaking that made by the old times to show how they live in the old era generation. Its mainly focus on the everyday struggles and suffer by the poor, working class people in difficult socio-political conditions.  To conclude all together as neorealism it employs a well developed mise-en-scene to achieve the objective reality of the films to emphasise how filmmakers can manipulate the reality.  In terms of narrative, Neorealism differs from Hollywood films as they more focusing on character, and plot to develop organically. Last but not least, Italian Neorealism has had an enormous impact on motivated people to rebuilt their own national reputation and the development of film which continues till today