Antonio, an unemployed man in the depressed post-WWII economy of Italy, at last finds a good job hanging up posters, the only requirement for which is that he must have his own bicycle. When Antonio’s bicycle is stolen, he and his son are forced to walk the streets of Rome in search of it, or else face ruin.
Lamberto Maggiorani Enzo Staiola Lianella Carell Elena Altieri Gino Saltamerenda Giulio Chiari Vittorio Antonucci Michele Sakara Carlo Jachino Emma Druetti Giulio Battiferri Sergio Leone Mario Meniconi Checco Rissone Peppino Spadaro Nando Bruno Eolo Capritti Memmo Carotenuto Umberto Spadaro Fausto Guerzoni Piero Heliczer Massimo Randisi
Suso Cecchi d'Amico Vittorio De Sica Adolfo Franci Gerardo Guerrieri Oreste Biancoli Cesare Zavattini Gherardo Gherardi
The Bicycle Thieves, The Bicycle Thief, Крадії велосипедів, Fietsendieven, Cykeltjuven, Bicycle Thief, Fahrraddiebe, Voleur de bicyclette, Kleftis podilaton, 자전거 도둑, Ladrón de bicicletas, Ladrões de Bicicleta, Le voleur de bicyclette, Крадљивци бицикала, Złodzieje rowerów, Zloději kol, Zlodeji bicyklov, Velosipēdu zagļi, Sykkeltyvene, Le Voleur de bicyclette, Похитители велосипедов, 偷自行车的人, Bisiklet Hırsızları, Κλέφτης ποδηλάτων, Biciklitolvajok, Hoți de biciclete, Крадци на велосипеди, גונבי האופניים, Викрадачі велосипедів, Polkupyörävaras, Cykeltyven, 單車失竊記, 自転車泥棒, Dviračių vagys, ველოსიპედის გამტაცებელნი, El lladre de bicicletes, จอมโจรจักรยาน
Italy
Switzerland12
Locarno Film Festival
USA
ItalyT
FranceU
UKU
USA
USSR
Spain
South Africa
South Africa
South Africa
JapanG
Australia
Portugal
Denmark
Germany12
Finland
Austria
South Korea18
AustraliaPG
UKU
UK
Netherlands6
Australia
Austria
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Italy
Japan
Netherlands
Portugal
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Switzerland
UK
USA
USSR
Lamberto Maggiorani (who plays the lead role of Antonio) was laid off from his job as a factory worker shortly after the film was complete. The factory required budget cuts and decided to fire Maggiorani because everyone assumed he was a millionaire movie star when he actually made only 600,000 lira (a little over 30,000 US dollars today, counting inflation). He pretty much spent the rest of his life as a bricklayer desperately trying but failing to land more acting gigs; even de Sica wouldn’t rehire him. Eventually, he died poor, having never regained the success of his first role.
And that is more depressing than the entire film.
I stole a bicycle once. I tried explaining to the cops that I was merely paying homage to post-war Italian neorealism.
It’s been years since a film has moved me to tears. But if there’s one film that can melt even the most stone-hearted of viewers, it is Bicycle Thieves. I can’t quite explain what it’s about because I don’t know, really. It follows a man named Antonio, thin as a scarecrow, as he tries to make a living. He needs a bicycle for the job he is lucky enough to get, but his bicycle gets stolen, and he roams the city trying to get it back, his little son dragging along behind him.
But Bicycle Thieves isn’t about that bicycle, really. It’s about fathers and sons, about the way the poor steal from each other because somebody else steals from…
Bruno's face.
The way he trips.
How he grabs his father's hand.
And how they just keep walking...
And I'm crying and I'm smiling,
I've been destroyed once again.
100
Oh so graceful. Lingering to the touch. A window of endless compassion and perspective. De Sica fluidly portrays individual hardship against the apathetic noise of the collective only to meld its "singular" journey into a systemic reality. Hand and hand, we walk.
There are several moments where Bruno looks up at his father and looks exactly like someone who just lost their hero. Truly an exceptional child performance.
very sad right now but i will cherish that scene in the restaurant with the mozzarella sandwiches forever!! it reminds me a lot of the scene in the florida project where halley and moonee sneak into the hotel and pretend to be guests to eat the continental breakfast. how an abundance of food brings so much pleasure to children; the seemingly endless options. but as an adult, it just highlights how broken our systems are. how something as simple as a decent meal can separate us, reinforcing differences in social class. an abundance of options looks like a utopia to these characters in those moment, but are ordinary and expected to everyone surrounding them.
