Bicycle Thieves Film Analysis

Neorealism was created in a society torn apart by war and a fascist regime.Its focus is on poverty, war, and occasionally hope. It is a tool used to allow the outside world experience the truth and realism the citizens of italy had experience. Neorealism films were shot on location, with non-professional actors, using various filmmaking techniques like the long take.
In the case of Bicycle Thieves, its focuses was on poverty, as the main character and his son travel in order to find his missing bicycle so that he can obtain a job. Throughout the film we are shown how poor the characters are as we see his wife gather all of her most cherished items and pawn them to get her husband the bike. Afterwards once obtaining the job the film reveals
The clothes pieced together are torn, dirty and plain. They have no visual aspects to establish them as high quality clothing rather as knockoff versions. You can see this difference as he speaks to various characters. For example in the scene were the man is looking towards the crowd as he offers Ricci a job, his clothes are nicer, he smokes, wears high end glasses and his hair is also trimmed compared to the men in the crowd. This also brings up another aspect of Mise en Scene which is the hair and makeup. The hair and makeup expand on the division as we see those who have to work hard just to survive often covered in dirt and grime. All of this surrounded by the crumbling buildings and cobblestone roads paints a picture of the life in this region of the city.
Another Example of Neil realism is the film Battle of Algiers, Which tells the story of North 1950s Algerian Rebels that fought for independence from France. this film was a highly influential political film it was shot in documentary-style but did not feature a single frame from any documentary. Using impressive props and effects, the film recreates extraordinary moments from the war. Battle of of Algiers employ the same tactics as Bicycle Thieves of by using non professional actors gorilla and on location shooting and also impressive use of Mise en
In the film, we see numerous of camera techniques used by Director Gillo Pontecorvo. Wide shot like in Bicycle Thieves were used to set the tone and aesthetic of the time. One memorable sequence of wide shots was used just towards the end of the beginning credits. The soldiers are essentially invading the city. One shot showed soldiers running up an alley staircase as they are framed by the two buildings, then it quickly cuts to a rooftop wide frame shot of the soldiers leaping over the edges of the building. As we see them invade it perpetuates several ideas of how large of a group they are, how swift they move, how powerful they can be and it also shows how overwhelming their presence is in this