Almost all cinema strives to a certain degree to convey a narrative in a manner that convinces viewers that what we're seeing on screen is real in order to facilitate our identification with its characters as well as our mental investment in the film in general. What sets the Italian Neorealism movement apart, however, is the lengths its adherents went to in creating hyperreal films. Theorist and critic Andé Bazin said of Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves in particular, "It is in the end the perfect aesthetic illusion of reality: no more cinema" (Lawton 16). Today I'll unpack some of the ways in which this film uses narrative and mise-en-scène to paint a realistic picture of post World War II Rome, and I'll also touch on how non-diegetic sound in the form of music doesn't take away from the realism but actually bolsters it for us as viewers.
At the heart of Bicycle Thieves lies a story about a father and his son. The director crafts this narrative using non-actors to play its protagonists, Antonio and Bruno. We believe Antonio's struggle precisely because the actor is not some movie star. Instead, he truly looks like a man who's been through a lot. Antonio's quest to find his stolen bicycle so he can keep his job is also quite relatable, but it also highlights the plight of those living in extreme poverty in a very true-to-life way. Even from the start it's clear just how poor the Ricci family is once Antonio's wife sells her dowry sheets. The film goes on to show the intraclass conflict between Antonio and the equally if not more impoverished man he believes stole his bicycle, all taking place in the actual streets of Rome rather than a studio set. Ultimately, this conflict is caused by the power structures that keep the rich at the top while everyone else battles it out for the scraps.
Bicycle Thieves, despite its heavy dose of realism, also has certain cinematic aspects that, if we pay close attention to them, firmly remind us that we're still watching a film. Lawton points out two explicit references to cinema within the film itself: firstly, the Rita Hayworth poster Antonio hangs up on his first day at work before his bicycle is stolen and later when another character mentions that "movies bore him" (18). We've also got an orchestral score throughout which cues us to feel specific emotions during key parts of the story. This is a technique closely associated with Hollywood, yet in Bicycle Thieves it's quite effective. To revisit the final scene, the frantic music playing as Antonio tries to peddle away on the bike he stole out of desperation followed by the somber strings accompanying shots of him fighting back tears in front of his son both tell us exactly how we're supposed to feel.
I think, though, that De Sica chose to include the score because was acutely aware that he was making a film, albeit one that aimed to capture the real in an accurate way. His awareness of the medium allowed him to play to its particular strengths, one of those being the power of non-diegetic sound. If anything, the music heightens our sense of the story's realism in terms of the character's emotions. Antonio's anguish as Bruno takes his hand becomes even more real to us once it's set to a melancholic string melody. Bicycle Thieves tells a moving tale which borrows a great deal from the real but at the same time lets cinematic elements like an orchestral score intensify the experience for the viewer.
Your words flow so well!! I agree, I believe De Sica included a score that helped cue us into the emotion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts on how the music adds on to how the viewers of this film are supposed to feel. The music does fit in perfectly and doesn't distract us from the film.
ReplyDeleteI thought the "movies bore me" line was pretty funny, almost like breaking the fourth wall. It also registers to me as a sort of critique directed at Italian film culture pre-neorealism. Similar to The 400 Blows's attitude towards its own cinematic predecessors.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you point out that at heart this is a movie about a father and son and I totally agree with you on this. I found it heartwarming how little Bruno was following his dad around Rome in search of the stolen bicycle. I also like how you touch on the elements of neorealism in the film and explain how they impact the film's narrative as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI think your points about using cinematic techniques to capture realism are really good. It seems like De Sica found the perfect way to balance cinema and realism to make a really compelling movie.
ReplyDeleteI am interested in your point about the musical score. While commitment to realism is important to the film, it would feel emptier without the music. If De Sica went too far into realism, the story would lose emotional potency.
ReplyDeleteI like your point about the music enhancing the honest portrayal. The emotions are a part of the central idea of the story, and that would be lost without the music. Although I definitely don't hear orchestral music in my head when I'm depressed, the mood transcends actual experience, and I think it works here.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that some of the cinematic elements of the film such as the soundtrack are what make the film really work on the spectator in the ways that you point out. I also agree with Ben Lawton's conclusion that this is the central contradiction of Italian Neorealism. The more "reel" that it gets, the more "real" that it feels to spectators.
ReplyDeleteBilly- I hadn't put much thought towards the score until i read your blog. The realism of the film with no outside score may have been very interesting and somewhat haunting. The movie made me feel very melancholy about life in general. When i see all the bikes in the movie i think of every story behind each bike and the person riding it. WHen they pawn the bike back there are hundreds of bike there too and hndreds of stories connected to the pawning of bikes. I got this feeling with the trolly rides as well. Each person getting off was coming from a far away place and all had a stroy of possible struggle too.
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