The Bicycle Thief Write Up

Justin Noddle

Period 6

The Bicycle Thief Write Up

The Bicycle Thief, also referred to as Bicycle Thieves, is a movie first released in Italy in 1948. It was then released to the United States over a year later in 1949. The director of this film is Vittorio De Sica. It is 93 minutes and the sound is all in Italian. The movie is in black and white as well. Antonio Ricci is a man who needs a bicycle for his job. When he buys one, it is stolen and he and his son Bruno much search to find the bicycle thief.

1.     How does the ending allow the viewer to decide how Antonio’s life continued?

This movie does not really have a conclusive ending. The movie finishes with Bruno and Antonio walking together to an unknown place. They are both crying and holding hands. The angle that this scene is shot at is constantly changing and may represent that there are more than one options where Antonio went with his life. This comes form the basis of Italian Neorealism principles. The audience knows that Antonio and his family are now in trouble but many questions were left unanswered and in open form. For example, did he ever find his bike? Or was he able to get his job? With these questions unanswered, the viewer is allowed to guess/assume what happened next.

2.     Why is the bike so important to Antonio in this movie and why is it so important to the movie in general?

The bike is extremely vital to the success of Antonio because he is a homeless man and the job he has been offered requires a bike for its work. Also, the bike is a wanted item by almost everybody in their society. Whenever bikes are present in the scene, there is chaos. In a way, the bicycle can be a symbol of jealousy and greed. The car has not yet been invented so the bike is the best form of transportation. A bicycle is not a necessity but it is very valuable. The director makes the bike seem as one of the most important objects in the world for this time. The bike, which is not very important to us today, was an extremely valuable item in this movie. In fact, the whole movie is about a certain bicycle being stolen.