Bicycle Thieves

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Day 309 of 365 of my year long challenge Week 45: The Feels ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Is there anything more heartbreaking than the look in Bruno's eyes as the film comes to a close? If ever our ice-cold hearts were to melt, this would be why. Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani) is a poor and desperate man looking for work. When an opportunity finds its way to Antonio, he and his wife Maria (Lianella Carell) must find a way to retrieve Antonio's pawned bicycle. On his first day, Antonio's bike is stolen by a young man and there is little Antonio or the police can do. Nevertheless, Antonio, his son Bruno (Enzo Staiola) and friends search tirelessly for the bike. Without luck, perseverance gives way to desperation and bad ideas. Amongst the best known of the Italian neorealist movement, Bicycle Thieves truly is an astonishing film. From so little comes so much and Vittorio De Sica, the director, has managed to scrape together a production that feels genuinely authentic. Locations are real, actors are untrained and the emotions are as raw and honest as they can possibly be. It is a film that dips deep into the well of sentimentality but never overuses this. It is not then a saccharine effort that becomes offputting but just an emotionally earnest film that one can't help but get wrapped up in. Maggiorani's performance as the put-upon father is a simple, raw and effective one. An untrained actor, his performance and character are one reflective of real life and it shines through. Everything he does makes sense. We come to understand him and his plight quickly and with ease but that only serves to make his growing desperation all the more affecting. With no bike, he has no job, and with no job his family is in trouble. Nothing is a more powerful motivator than family, especially when your young son tags along as you go searching. Impressive as Maggiorani is, though, it is Staiola who really steals the show. Innocent as all children are, Bruno is not naive and Staiola seems to have an uncanny knack for appearing more aware and mature than he might otherwise be given credit for. It is, however, in the moments where he is both hurt by and must support his father that this little kid moves mountains. Nothing is hidden in those big expressive eyes or in the charming attitude he exudes. Watching him and watching father and son together is a heart-wrenching experience. With minimal interference running through Bicycle Thieves, we watch as this pair search, chase and hope throughout the streets of Rome. We, along with them, grow ever more frantic and desperate as the bike slips away, making it all the easier to understand how decisions and actions lead things from bad to worse. I can't say I'd do any different or any better in the same situation but I understand Antoni, even if I see what's coming and hope just as desperately that he won't do what I think he's about to do. Heartbreaking, earnest and wonderfully enjoyable, Bicycle Thieves is a simple film with big power. You'll get wrapped up in the desperate hunt for a thief, a bicycle and a way to live as if it were your own. But it is in the bond between Antonio and Bruno that Bicycle Thieves proves itself and provides honesty and hope. With this, Bicycle Thieves could make the Grinch's heart grow three sizes or more.