Italian Neorealism was a movement that emerged in the 1940s. It expressed a modified form of realism. Numerous forms of realism exist, some include: art realism and social realism. Art captures the meaning, essence and truth of life, whilst social concentrates on the depiction of the working class and poor – essentially real life living environments. This was a harsh contrast to the heavily constructed fictions being produced in Hollywood. However, Italian Neorealism shrouds details that had not been seen before. Most of these films incorporated the difficult economic and moral conditions of post-World War II Italy through an “examination of the daily events of the ordinary Italians” (Bondanella, 2009, p. 216). They are very distinctive in style, looking dull, moody but honest; However in some aspect appear rather charming. In this essay, I will discuss the aesthetic of the wonderful 1948 film Bicycle Thieves, directed by Vittorio De Sica. This will include an analysis of the films mise-en-scene, cinematography and editing.
Mise-en-scene is fundamentally the putting into a scene; and it is the director’s responsibility to ensure that everything within shot is arranged perfectly. According to critic Robert Gordon “Bicycle Thieves puts its primary materials to work at so many different, intersecting levels: it works as a purely formal narrative device” (Gordon, 2008, p.38). As every prop in a frame can be analysed it is worth doing so in order to dissect a deeper understanding and narrative of the film. The bicycle is very symbolic. Once Antonio is employed and receives the bicycle he rides it happily with his wife, however it then gets stolen and they are forever chasing after the bicycle to get it back. This could be metaphorical for the once unified and happy Italy; however it gets taken from them during the War. Italians then longed for their country back, as now thousands are unemployed and the morale is low. As De Sica used real people off the streets to act in his movies with improvised scripts it creates a stronger authenticity to the story because they too are chasing an Italy that will never return. Mark Shiel states in Italian Neorealism: Rebuilding the Cinematic City that “neorealism was coming under intensifying threat from Hollywood” as well as stating that De Sica underlines this awareness in Bicycle Thieves when Antonio is pasting a poster of Rita Hayworth on the wall while his bicycle is stolen (Shiel, 2006, p. 61). Thus showing how these films were bold and courageous. They were completely opposite to the White Telephone films, these were the light-hearted melodramas and comedies made in Italy during the 1930s-1940s which consisted of upper class storytelling. Altogether Neorealism was against fascist cinema; De Sica scraps censorship and portrays the honest Italy of the time – even though people did not want reminders of the war.
Location is very important within the films mise-en-scene. The majority of shooting took place outdoors with natural lighting. This meant the buildings added realism opposed to artificial sets that were used within the Hollywood films. With realism you have to assess how real you want your image to appear with the help of setting or location – in Bicycle Thieves nothing is artificial which helps propel the legitimacy De Sica longed for. We can see in the film that the director has used real living conditions to portray everyday people caught up in bad situations within the world. For example, when Antonio searches for the bicycle we witness the many long and winding streets of Rome. Additionally the use of large crowds on the streets is a contributing factor to the setting. Whilst Antonio searches for his bicycle he passes large crowds of people in ques, this helps replicate the anxieties the unemployed civilians had as they are most likely searching for jobs available. Consequently this distracts from anything stylish, although you can dress a location to enhance authenticity, if De Sica did this his film would turn into a contradiction as it would no longer be an honest portrayal of post-World War II Italy. Cesare Zavattini created a proposal shrouding “some ideas on cinema”. He believed that reality is endlessly fascinating, it could be any person anywhere but observing reality is what is valuable because every human life is a narrative. He also stated that you should be spontaneous with movie making, but we should reject the common rules as rules are made to be broken. He believed in no more ‘actors’, no heroes and an inexpensive film could be just as appreciated (Zavattini, 1953, p. 124 – 133); ultimately, the greater the authenticity, the greater the believability.
Just like the mise-en-scene, the cinematography illustrates the neorealist style of Bicycle Thieves. The camera has an eye, a hunger for reality; as there were minimal resources and a lack of equipment at the time of creating the film it all contributes to the everyday depiction of Italy. If a neorealist film was created with a highly technical camera it would contradict the philosophy behind the film. Bicycle Thieves includes some “prevalence of medium and long shots, and long takes” and this can appear as a rejection on Hollywood (Gordon, 2008, p.16). Overall the cinematography is very simple in the movie. For example, when Antonio takes his son to the restaurant on impulse, there is a contrast shown between the boy and his father and a rich family sat opposite. However it is significant to note that between the two shots, Antonio’s son is the only person within the shot, then as it flicks to the rich young boy he is surrounded by all his family – this could faintly illuminate the harsh reality that Antonio’s son doesn’t have a future mapped out for him, unlike the wealthy boy who is amongst the family fortune he will eventually inherit.
Usually within a film a change in camera angle can be used to intensify a harsh contrast. However, De Sica does not take up the opportunity, simply highlighting the neorealist characteristics that it is all about the telling of an honest story opposed to any artificial or exaggerated features. Artistic camera usage tends to transport us; De Sica does not want to do that. Additionally as it feels such a personal film it’s interesting to note that De Sica does not use the optical objective shot. This is when the shot is through the perspective of the character; although this would heighten the intimacy between audience and characters, it also does not need to be done. It would distract from the documentary perspective De Sica has set for the film – “neorealism was always a moral position rather than a true cinematic movement” (Bondanella, 2009, p.138). For the filmmakers it mattered more so about the narrative and the way it impacted audiences, rather than experimenting with style.
Editing is all about the relationship between shot A to B as well as the process which allows you to eliminate unwanted footage. Typically you would expect there to be minimal editing with cuts that manage to manipulate the mind. It should manipulate us into thinking that we are following an everyday story – similar to the concept of reality TV. By attempting to represent life as realistically as possible with long continuous shots it helps preserve authenticity, it also makes the audience forget they are watching a film. However, Bicycle Thieves does not do this; in fact it is rather choppy but not to the point where it distracts attention. This perhaps could portray the ridged and dysfunctional Italy as what once was structured and a happy flow of life is now broken.
At times the editing also helps create rhythm. For example, when Antonio sees a stranded bicycle at the end of the film, he spends a lot of time contemplating whether or not he should take it. After a flow of bicycles ride past Antonio and his son, the editing cuts seem more obvious. Not necessarily picked up in speed but just stand out. You would expect a fast cut or flicker of editing switching to perhaps mimic Antonio’s heartbeat but the sequences are quite long. This could be because the editing does not need to create intensity through rhythm. De Sica is showing that we shouldn’t have faith that Antonio will escape with the bicycle because that is not a realistic ending for his story. Therefore he drags out the cuts as if for the characters want it to go faster so they can escape the situation but De Sica is refusing to give them that.
In conclusion, “Italian cinema is the successful generational change that occurred in the industry” (Bondanella, 2009, p.217) but that delivers the harsh realities that can exist within the world. From analysing the mise-en-scene we can see that De Sica layers the meaning of his narrative with props and location. By pasting Rita Hayworth on the wall whilst his bicycle is stolen as well as having the film shot on the streets of Rome it really is successful in looking and feeling realistic. With cinematography, although it is not artistic, it is genius; and like the mise-en-scene the editing encapsulates, many much deeper, richer levels of philosophy. All of these combine to create a distinctive aesthetic which any film enthusiast would attach to an Italian neorealist film.
Bibliography:
Bondanella, P. (2009). A History of Italian Cinema. London: Continuum.
Gordon, Robert S. C. (2008). Bicycle Thieves [Ladri di biciclette]. London: BFI.
Shiel, M. (2006). Italian Neorealism: Rebuilding the Cinematic City. Columbia University Press.
Sica De, Vittorio (1948). Bicycle Thieves.
Zavattini, C. (2014) “Some Ideas on the Cinema”. In: S. MacKenzie, ed., Film Manifestos and Global Cinema Cultures: A Critical Anthology, University of California Press.
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