2nd February 2010, FILM: Bicycle Thieves

I first saw Bicycle Thieves when I was studying film A Level in 1994. We got shown this Italian film from 1948 as part of a module on Italian social realism when, to be honest, I think that most people in the class would've preferred the new Die Hard film or something. However, I loved it. I'm not saying I had brilliant taste and everyone else was a fool (I am) but I think maybe this is where my love for films in which not much happens, miserably, comes from. In the film, set during the post-war Italian depression, an unemployed man pawns his bed sheets in order to buy a bike so that he can take a bill-posting job. On his first day at work, his bike is stolen. Throughout the rest of the film, he, along with his son and various friends look for the bike in a vain effort to find it. They don't. It's a beautiful film where not much happens but the sense of pride and loss of the main character is so keenly felt, it's impossible not to be moved by it. A special mention must go to the son, played by Enzo Staiola, who has a truly incredible face that seems to convey the entire sadness of the whole film with just one look. I'd love to know what became of him. Also, this special screening was notable for the attendance of quite a few Italians. This made me see the film in quite a different light, as they laughed along at some of the overplayed Italian characters (and especially the exaggerated arm-waving) and moments which, without them, I'd probably not have realised the humour of. See this film if you can, it's a classic.