Bicycle Thief

1
Bicycle Thief

• Marxism and Materialist Determinism

2
Italian Neorealism History

• From its earliest days during the resistance
  against the German occupation, to the devastating
  aftermath of the War and the hopelessness of
  reconstruction that ensued, neorealism painted a
  picture of real Italian life from 1943 to
  1952.
• (from Neoweb http//www.carleton.edu/curricular/ME
  DA/classes/media110/Voigt/paper1.html )

3
Italian Neorealism Style

• 1. an avoidance of neatly plotted stories in
  favor of loose, episodic structures that evolve
  organically 2. a documentary visual style 3.
  the use of actual locations--usually
  exteriors--rather than studio sites 4. the use
  of nonprofessional actors, even for principal
  roles 5. use of conversational speech, not
  literary dialogue 6. avoidance of artifice in
  editing, camerawork, and lighting in favor of a
  simple "style-less" style

4
Italy social background

• Post-War Italy
• A mass emigration from the impoverished south to
  the north.
• 25 of the Italian workforce was jobless

5
The Bicycle Thief (or The Bicycle Thieves)

• How is post-war Italian society presented? With
  what images and which people? -- How are social
  hierarchy and class differences presented?
• How does family relationship get affected by
  poverty?
• Is a Antonio too helpless and pathetic in the
  film? The films social critique.
• The title in original Italian should be The
  Bicycle Thieves." Why?

6
(No Transcript)