Bicycle Thieves
Few would argue that 1946's BICYCLE THIEVES is an essential part of the Serious Filmgoer's education. A neorealist classic of Italian cinema. It has been revered by critics and cited by filmmakers as hugely influential. I believe I originally saw the film in grade school, and certain that I met it with indifference. I watched it again on Christmas Eve, 2020. It seemed an appropriate time, especially after a year in which lives were ravaged by the coronavirus. I felt the film might resonate even stronger. It does resonate. Its simple story of an everyman named Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani) who scrounges for work to support his wife and two children in post WWI Rome is heartbreakingly effective. Vittorio De Sica is a masterful director with a direct, yet artful style. His evocation of poverty is palpable. I did find it more successful in De Sica's later UMBERTO D, a film with which I immediately gained a strong connection, but BI...
