Reality in Black and White

A few weeks back I found a copy of The Bicycle Thief in Makati Cinema Square. I felt lucky to have picked it up among the rubble of Hollywood films because repeatedly it is hailed as one of the classics of world cinema. It is also considered as a landmark in the neo-realism movement. You can check IMDB for its synopsis.

It is the kind of film that kicks you in the gut despite its brevity and austerity. It sends loads of messages about the plight of the poor (in post-war Italy in this film) who latch their very existence on what is generally considered as a frivolity. The stolen bike in this case is the pillar of hope of the impoverished family. When a thief ran off with the bike, father and son go at great lengths to find it. In the process the viewer is taken into their anguish and sheer despair. After much frustration the father is sucked by the system that victimized him in the first place, which the son witnessed. Sigh, such a painful, haunting ending. The Bicycle Thief reminded me of Brocka's Insiang and Maynila sa Kuko ng Liwanag.

I learned later on that non-actors played most of the characters in the movie. In fact Lamberto Maggiorani, who plays the lead, was a factory worker.

Photo Credit: Rotten Tomatoes