Italian Neorealism

Anthony Wilson
11/10/2014
Italian Neorealism

As cultures progress, cinema will always revive its past, mirror its present, and predict its future. Throughout history, cultures have inspired new waves of film. Filmmaking has reflected cultural decades of every era. Whether through non-fiction or fiction, films still establish the principle of human psyche. From America’s popular westerns in the 1920s to Italy’s neorealist films in the ‘40s-‘50s, films have been created to emulate the conditions of life. The influential film movement, Italian Neorealism, began in the mid-to-late 1940s and was a style of filmmaking that aesthetically established everyday life of the lower class in post World War II Italy. The stories would follow themes
Since most of the Italian neorealist films were narratively structured about simple plots within the lower working class of Italian society, the characters were the main focus of the film and the story was simply the randomness of real life and how it organically plays out. The best neorealist example of this is the film Bicycle Thieves by Vittorio De Sica. The film is about a man, Antonio, who gets the bicycle he needs for his job stolen and then goes on a search with his son Bruno for the culprit. It sounds like simple story to the average civilian, but to Antonio, a poor man living in postwar Italy, getting his bicycle stolen is a tragedy that could put his job in jeopardy and eventually put him back through the desperate struggle of trying to find a job and provide for his family. De Sica stated that Bicycle Thieves was a film concerned with “those social contradictions which society wants to ignore” and a film “dedicated to the suffering of the humble”, and how realism could never be a matter of “mere documentation” (Shiel, 59). The film deals with the theme of moral chances between right and wrong during poverty. After looking everywhere in town, towards the end of the film Antonio gives up and drives himself to making the bad decision of stealing a bicycle from a poor civilian like himself. He is
Though the short success of Italian Neorealism from the ‘40s to ‘50s created a long-lasting impression towards cinema and helped change the direction of this art form. Italian neorealism was born out of an obscure fascist government and a troubling war to express and communicate the truth of the World War II aftermath in society through the lives of everyday civilians on screen. The directors devoted to promoting authenticity through the mise-en-scène of actual locations, minimal postproduction, natural lighting, and non-professional actors to create their look. The strong relationships and emotions between characters pulled audiences into the reality of their lives. The critics and viewers across the globe responded positively to these films and awarded the Italian film crews involved Academy Awards and Golden Globes for their work. Italian Neorealism was an inspiration to an entire generation of young filmmakers internationally because of their precision of tackling difficult issues through their vision of