Postwar european cinema became the fundamental transitioning period in film history. With the films from Hollywood quickly dominating in theatres, the local film industries around Europe had to contend with the aftermath of the war that saw various production sites destroyed or the plunging economy where no film industry was secure of its foothold. This led, then, to a return to the modernist tradition of art cinema, hoping to revitalise european life with the film industry.
In this paper, I will discuss about Italian Neorealism through an analysis of Vittorio De Sica’s film “Bicycle Thieves” (1948). In analysing the film, I will highlight the three stylistic and formal features of postwar modernism, as well as the styles attributed to the Italian Neorealism as listed by Thompson & Bordwell (328, 333) that was incorporated into the movie and its legacy to contemporary films.
To begin, Thompson & Bordwell states that the fall of Mussolini’s government meant that the Italian film industry lost its organisational centre [….] Most production firms became small-scale affairs. But while domestic companies struggled, Neorealist cinema emerged as a force for cultural renewal and social change (330). This created a stir amongst the filmmakers who were determined to create a new cinematic experience– one that would cater to the current society that was struggling to overcome the aftermath of war. Thompson & Bordwell also quotes De Santis and Alicata from 1941: “We are convinced that one day we will create our most beautiful film following the slow and tired step of the worker who returns home” (330). It is evident, then, that what the filmmakers of that time believed to be the fundamental focus of a neorealist narrative is the daily life and struggle of a social class worker and the environment that shapes such lives. This is reiterated by Thompson & Bordwell in highlighting that there were no neorealist manifestos of that time, but there was the presence of an appeal for greater realism and emphasis on contemporary subjects and the life of the working class (333).
This idea is captured in its raw form in De Sica’s “Bicycle Thieves”, a film about an unemployed man named Antonio Ricci who was given the opportunity to work as a bill poster, but had to face the initial challenge of repossessing his bike, the struggle of recovering the stolen bike, and the unfortunate ending of returning home having lost both his means of employment and dignity. Throughout the narrative, the tension between family members was shown in their daily struggles, each having to contend with the meagre lifestyle they live, pawning personal belongings just to afford food for the entire family. He and his son, Bruno, also witnesses the unfairness of society, the cruelty of man and the unshakable bond between family members. This situation, however, is soon revealed to be a normal occurrence in the society they lived in, thus depicting their hardships as a norm. This presents them as an “ordinary family” which fits perfectly with the focus of neorealist narratives and captures the first of the three styles and forms of modernist art cinema, which is objective realism.
According to Thompson & Bordwell, objective realism led filmmakers toward episodic, slice-of-life narratives that avoided Hollywood’s tight plots […] with postwar european modernist films favouring the open-ended narratives, in which central plot lines were left unresolved (328). In other words, the narrative creates a “truer to life” experience for the audience since real life doesn’t simply end with one scenario. In the movie, the entire journey of searching for the stolen bicycle engages with the psychological acceptance of the audience. Each scene becomes a social commentary, such as: unemployed workers flocking towards the union worker from the working agency; the women lining up to get pails of water; workers living in building complexes; pawning personal belongings to get by; children in the streets trying to earn their keep; Bruno having to work in a gasoline stand to help the family; theft being a common occurrence; social divide between the rich and the poor as seen in that restaurant scene; failing to receive any help from the authorities, the church, or the workers’ union; and the prevailing sense of suspecting everyone. By highlighting these scenarios, De Sica manages to portray reality in its raw form without glamourising or shying away from potentially incriminating social perceptions– which is contrary to Hollywood films that tend to over-dramatise everything with beauty. Thus, one part of echoing such realism is the use of non-actors for roles, which generates close to natural performances and reactions. And another part of the movie that showcases the unresolved style of neorealism is the ending where Ricci and Bruno are left to hold hands as they walk along with the rest of the working public after having lost their opportunity to recover the stolen bike and also his job. To where this scenario will lead them or how their family will fare from that point on, nothing is mentioned, leaving the audience to decide on the lingering open-ended message.
Another style and form is the move to represent subjective reality or the psychological forces that make an individual act in particular ways (Thompson & Bordwell, 328). Throughout the movie, we overhear other people often commenting about finding work or complaining about how life is difficult and each and everyone is trying to get by in their own way. Plunged into this sort of society, Ricci becomes self-conscious of his duty to provide for his family, as shown in his desperation to recover his stolen bike. This desperation leads to his conversion of faith in asking for help from the Seer whom he never believed in at the beginning of the movie. And ultimately, his desperation forces him to commit theft, hoping to achieve the same result as the thief who stole his bicycle. This, however, fails and his dignity as a person and father is shattered as Bruno witnesses his act of theft and the accusation of society. What makes this subjective reality is the fact that what drove his desperation were a culmination of events depicted along their journey, creating an acceptable causal relationship. Most Hollywood films would have a Deus Ex Machina to correct the trajectory of the narrative, but in neorealist cinema, acceptable events determine the growth of the character and narrative, so much so, that the conclusion is not formulaic or anticipated.
Finally, the last of the styles and forms according to Thompson & Bordwell is authorial commentary, which is the sense that an intelligence outside of the film’s world is pointing out something about the events we see (329). Throughout the movie, the search for the stolen bike has Ricci reminding his companions that it is a “Fides” model, but upon closer inspection, fides is Italian for the word “faith”. The movie, itself, explores the relationship of the characters and their faith, such as: when the wife, Maria believes in the Seer, whom Ricci also went to ask for help in the latter half of the movie after having lost faith on the authorities, the church, and the union for help in his case; another is Ricci’s lost of personal faith, leaving him to commit theft in the last part of the movie; and lastly, is Bruno’s renewed faith and love for his father who was willing to go through desperate measures just to provide for his family. Another thing to note is the general suspicion of people within society shows the lack of faith as a result of the tumultuous times brought by the aftermath of war.
These are accompanied by neorealist styles and forms, such as the manipulation of sound, wherein because the shots are done in the actual location, neorealist cinema mastered the art of dubbing-in dialogues and other musical backgrounds during the post-production process. Another style heavily influenced by neorealist cinema is the convenience of coincidences that reflect the unexpectedness of real life to shape the events that would unfold. Though contemporary films tend to abuse Deus Ex Machina to this effect, the purpose of the coincidences laid out by neorealist films is to allow an appreciation for the ordinary life and its uncertainties. Lastly, the loose plot and unresolved endings was highlighted by neorealist cinema in order to engage the audience for a deeper understanding or insight of the film’s message. In contemporary times, this is often used in avant-garde documentaries, such as “Campaign 2” (2013) by Kazuhiro Soda or films like “House of Sand and Fog” (2003) by Vadim Perelman, wherein the film aims to inform the audience and the decision to acknowledge or address it relies entirely on the audience.
In terms of legacy, perhaps we can attribute that Italian neorealist cinema has become a foregrounding art cinema in contemporary film festivals. To promote films in a global scale, film festivals began to appear after the war, and this was the perfect venue to portray messages of the ordinary. According to Thompson & Bordwell, festivals [today] can reshape local culture [….] and allows national cultures to present themselves in a good light (707). This can only be achieved through a careful depiction of the ordinary life within a society. However, an innovation from the examination of a typical episodic life, filmmakers of the 20th century have began exploring the experience of migration. Thompson & Bordwell calls it the sense of floating among cultures, speaking minority languages, being shut off from the mainstream and living divided social lives [in a global context] called the “cinema of diaspora” (705). Thus, promoting an “ordinary and acceptable identity” becomes their shared focus. And perhaps, it can be inferred that this new movement was inspired by the Italian neorealist cinema’s style, form and focus.
In conclusion, Italian neorealist cinema was a groundbreaking art movement of its time, whose style, form and focus allowed for an engaging experience of the audience, and creates a deeper appreciation for the ordinary life. This, then, creates a sense of nostalgia that allows the movement to have deeper impressions on the succeeding cinematic art movements and directors. And with globalisation at the fore, we can easily retrace the legacy of neorealist cinema in today’s films.
(February 08, 2016)
References:
1. Bicycle Thieves. Directed by Vittorio De Sica. 1948. Italy: Produzioni Di Sica, Film.
2. Thompson, Kristine and Bordwell, David. “Postwar European Cinema: Neorealism and its context, 1945-1959”. Film History: An Introduction, Third Edition. Wisconsin: McGraw Hill, 2010. p324-337
3. Thompson, Kristine and Bordwell, David. “Toward a Global Film Culture”. Film History: An Introduction, Third Edition. Wisconsin: McGraw Hill. p694-712
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