"The Bicycle Thief" is a deeply moving neo-realist study of post-War Italy which depicts one man's loss of faith and his struggle to maintain personal dignity in poverty and bureaucratic indifference. Antonio Ricci is a bill-poster whose bicycle, essential for his job, is stolen by a thief. Joined by his son Bruno, Antonio vainly searches for his bike, eventually resorting to the humiliation of theft himself. Throughout this paper, I will attempt to trace the character through "The Bicycle Thief." The film opens with a montage of early morning urban activities ending on a crowd of unemployed laborers clamoring for work. Sitting to the side is Antonio Ricci. Beaten down by despair, he has lost the energy to fight. His spirits are lifted, however, when his name is called out for a job. Invigorated, he damns poverty. His joy however, is fleeting, employment depends on one condition -- that he owns a bicycle. To provide for his family, Antonio long ago pawned his bicycle and now, in one day, he raise the price of the pawn ticket. Not knowing where he will get the money, he turns to his wife Maria. In their stark home, the only thing left to pawn is a remnant of her dowry and the family's last vestige of comfort -- the bed sheets. Bravely, Maria strips the bed and begins to wash the linens. At the pawn shop, it becomes evident that the Ricci's misery is not unique. Their sheets are added to a mountain of small white bundles, and Antonio reclaims his bicycle from the rack of hundreds like it. Delighted by the prospect of a good fortune, the couple happily ride away. Antonio picks up his instructions for the following morning and Mariastops by to see Signora Santona, a medium who predicted that Antonio would find a job. He gently scolds his wife for her superstitions, but Maria holds firm to her belief in the woman's psychic ability. In a series intermittent domestic scenes, Antonio is portrayed as a l...
