cycle Thief." I am aware that there has been a lot of complex criticism regarding this film, and much of it has been of diverse nature. For one thing, De Sica exposes a variety of psychological and emotional losses, i.e. the simple story of a stolen bicycle. At the same time, as Antonio meets frustration at every turn, he losses his confidence and his self respect and feels completely isolated. However, he is rises above the earthy, so to speak, when he refuses to press charges on the thief. In the next major move of the film, he is quick to attempt to steal someone else's bicycle. Humiliation is his only reward. At the same time, there is yet another facet of this film with has to do with father and son relationships. It is actually the emotional center, and in my view the one around which the entire story unfolds. De Sica has claimed that his primary intent was poetic rather than political, and the film has been praised as anti-Facist and pro-Solidarity. Indeed, the stark realism of this backdrop reveals the results of years of war and impoverished living. The comments made about society as well as politics are inescapable, but are not overt. When De Sica began directing in the early 1940's he had already established himself as a successful leading man on both stage and screen.Following his dectorial debut, with a few sentimental comedies, De Sica collaborate with screen writer Cesare Vazattini on "I Bambini Ci Guardano" (1943); "The Children Are Watching Us," and embarked upon an artistic partnership that would last throughout the 1970's. He seems strongly influenced neo-realistic style, and in addition to the "Bicycle Thief," they contributed to other films as well. (McGills Survey of Cinema, p.2) In view, the "Bicycle Thief" has much to do with a clashing of cultures. There are transcending messages, i.e., politics and social decay which appear in...
