Possible Spoilers One of the simplest movies ever made, yet one of the most poignant. Of particular note is the title of the film, which serves, in retrospect, to illustrate deSicca's main point. In English, the singular title "The Bicylce Thief" causes the viewer to question who really is the bicycle thief in the movie? It is logical to conclude that the title refers to the main character, whom the film closely chronicles. But to call the hopeless, dejected character, with whom the viewer has empathized for the entire movie, a thief would be ludicrous, unless- by calling such a man a "thief"- deSicca is making a more powerful commentary on an inability to define a person or his actions as absolutely good or absolutely evil- the two terms are not mutually exclusive, as there is a blurring between the two that occurs when other factors are considered. The title serves as a reminder that not all criminals are evil- some have been motivated out of good intentions and desperation. In the end, the viewer is forced to make a jarring comparison between the "thief" who stole the main char's bicycle and the main char, himself. The irony of the situation causes the viewer to realize his own hypocrisy. Though we formerly considered the first thief to be petty and evil for ruining the main char's life, we can no longer hold such a judgment of him after witnessing the main char do the same- an act which the viewer considers sympathetically. The change in judgment toward the first "thief" which the viewer is forced to make at the film's conclusion is a reminder to the viewer that one's awareness of the circumstances governing a situation can dramatically change one's assessment of the situation. The Italian, plural title "Ladri di Biciclette" serves to generalize the crime, desperation, degradation, to everyman in post-war Italy. I also loved this movie for the portrayed father-son relationship. The little boy did an excellent job in portraying a boy who attempts to act like a grown up in order to help, and therefore gain the approval of, his father.
However, by the end of the movie we are reminded that the boy is just a boy (which the father seems to forget at intervals, but realizes when he offers to take him for pizza, etc.). The father also has a dilemma- and not just that he bears the burden of providing for his family monetarily, but that he must provide moral teaching and an example as well. Moreover, the filial relationship serves to better illustrate the theme of blurred definitions of good and evil. The boy's black-and-white ideas on good and evil is juxtaposed with the reality of post-war Italy, in which there can not be such a clear distinction between the two terms-"good" people are forced to do "bad" acts in order to survive. The two different moral characterizations are forced to converge in the young boy, himself, when he witnesses his own father commit a crime. The boy is forced to grow up too soon- i.e., to abandon his absolute views on good and evil in favor of the grey reality in order to grant his father forgiveness. The ending of the film illustrates that though a child may constantly seek approval and confirmation from his father, the approval which a father must seek from his son, though far more subtle and less obvious, plays an equally important and intrinsic role in filial relationships.
However, by the end of the movie we are reminded that the boy is just a boy (which the father seems to forget at intervals, but realizes when he offers to take him for pizza, etc.). The father also has a dilemma- and not just that he bears the burden of providing for his family monetarily, but that he must provide moral teaching and an example as well. Moreover, the filial relationship serves to better illustrate the theme of blurred definitions of good and evil. The boy's black-and-white ideas on good and evil is juxtaposed with the reality of post-war Italy, in which there can not be such a clear distinction between the two terms-"good" people are forced to do "bad" acts in order to survive. The two different moral characterizations are forced to converge in the young boy, himself, when he witnesses his own father commit a crime. The boy is forced to grow up too soon- i.e., to abandon his absolute views on good and evil in favor of the grey reality in order to grant his father forgiveness. The ending of the film illustrates that though a child may constantly seek approval and confirmation from his father, the approval which a father must seek from his son, though far more subtle and less obvious, plays an equally important and intrinsic role in filial relationships.