"Ladri di Biciclette" and Realism
“Ladri di Biciclette certainly is neorealist’.”
Ladri di Biciclette is often considered together with films like Roma, Città Aperta and Paìsa as the one of the most representative expressions of the Italian Neo-’realist’ film movement of the 1940s. In my assignment, based on the last sequence of Ladri di Biciclette, I intend to explore and analyse how might the nature of the subject of the film, be it the subject as in the protagonist character or as in the thematic subject matter, and the way in which the director constructs the treatment of such subjects be read as ‘realist’. I think that it is important to reinforce the idea that despite the film being ‘realist’, as most of the arguments in the course of this assignment will support, it is nevertheless a director and writer’s construction, even more because Ladri di Biciclette is a fiction film in which an enormous amount of time was placed in developing the script, contrary to what is sometimes said about many of its scenes being improvised.
Before I move into a closer analysis of the film and the extract, I believe that it is important to establish clear meanings for ‘realism’ or ‘realist’, as they are central words for the discussion in this assignment. First, ‘realism’ or ‘realist’ can be seen as a method of representing objects, characters or events as faithfully as possible to their real equivalents in terms of their appearance. Second, ‘realism’ can be seen as a conscious commitment to understanding and describing psychological, social and physical forces in our world. In other words, unveiling the truth behind the surface of things.
Ladri di Biciclette came out in 1948, three years after the end of the World War II, in the same year of the victory of the Christian Democratic Party over the Popular Front in the general elections in Italy. The historical context of the film is then one of political instability, filled with corruption in all the government institutions, and with enormous ruptures and disequilibrium in social classes. The unemployment rate was very high and there was immense poverty among the people. All these aspects are permanently present in the film and shape the world of the action where the main character, Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani), desperately searches for his stolen bike together with his son Bruno (Enzo Staiola). Because of this realistic portrayal of the society as it would have been during the aftermath of the WWII, Ladri di Biciclette has been praised, particularly by Andrè Bazin, as being a relic or index of pro-filmic events. In other words, due to the accuracy of the representation of historical and social facts, the film encapsulates a trace of reality. Following on from the same way of thinking as Bazin, Susan Sontag writes:
“It [a photograph] is also a trace, something directly stencilled off the real, like a footprint or a death mask.”
In the film, the protagonist is an ordinary working-class man similarly to many other thousands, and the problem that he faces, the search for his stolen bike, is, as the film suggests, a problem that also affects many other people from the working-class. As Andrè Bazin suggests, these two aspects render the film as ‘populist’ .
However, contrary to what would be expected from a character of this nature, the film often puts Ricci in opposition to the masses - the individual versus the collective. This is what happens in the last sequence of the film, which is set just outside the Olympic Stadium in Rome, right after a football match. In this sequence, Ricci fights the difficult moral choice of either stealing a bike and being able to provide for his family, or not stealing a bike but become once again unemployed. He decides to take the immoral choice of stealing a bike, but is quickly caught by a violent crowd that humiliates him and has no interest in trying to understand his situation. I believe that this conflict between the individual and the masses suggests a criticism from De Sica of the fact that, despite the working class being in a very precarious social situation in Italy at the time, people do not share the expected sense of co-operation and solidarity.
This sequence, which starts with Ricci and Bruno wandering in the streets of Rome before arriving at the stadium, can be considered as ‘aesthetic realism’. Among several elements that could be read as supportive of this point, I want to draw attention to four. Firstly, the predominant shot sizes in the sequence are the Long Shot (full figure) until they reach the stadium, and the Medium Shot (waist up) during the long moment when Ricci ponders on his dilemma of whether to steal a bike or not. There is no use of close shots, where only the face of a character is shown, even in highly dramatic moments such as the crying of Bruno when he sees his father being caught and humiliated. Secondly, many of these shots are accompanied by either pannings or travellings, which allow for the possibility of creating more naturally-flowing shots, as well as shots that can follow the action for a longer time. Thirdly, the screen duration of the shots is quite long, and these have usually great depth of field. Fourthly, there are a considerable number of subjective shots of Ricci, which place the audience in the character’s ‘physical’ position, rendering the events as more realistic.
Nevertheless, there are elements that oppose the ‘realism’ to which I have just been referring. Among these I believe that the most obvious one is the way in which the soundtrack for the scene is constructed. The soundtrack, I would suggest, is not bound by ‘realist’ choices, but rather by dramatic ones. The use of ambient sounds is present, but of secondary importance in relation to the use of almost continuous music; this is built on multiple variations of the theme of the film, as well as the use of specific instruments that punctuate the crucial dramatic moments of this sequence. Particularly significant is the use of a soprano saxophone to intensify the moment just preceding the stealing of the bike, and the use of an alto saxophone that plays a tune along with Bruno crying, just after he picks up his father’s hat. Besides the soundtrack, I also found that there is a use of effects in the cuts in the first part of the sequence, particularly the use of two dissolves and a wipe. Like the soundtrack, the reason behind the use of these effects is a dramatic, rather than a ‘realist’ one. The effects contribute to create a continuity of mood, despite the fact that there is no continuity of either space or time between the initial shots where Ricci and Bruno wander in the streets. Lastly, there are also some travellings that do not have an action motivation. They are only used to visually dramatize specific moments: the travelling forward that follows the passage of the cyclists, by moving in to Ricci’s medium shot in order to underpin his emotional reaction.
As a whole, despite the obvious use of a realistic filmmaking style, dramatic motives are, ultimately, more important for Vittorio De Sica than an obsession with realism as an end in itself.
Lastly, I think it is important to go back to the issue of the subject of the film. Despite the criticism of Italian society implied in De Sica’s treatment of the film’s subject matter, the fact that Bruno is a child is crucial to the impact of De Sica’s message of an underlying hope for a different future. This is reinforced by the fact that Bruno has some characteristics that hint at a more conscientious generation to come: in several moments of the film he appears to be more mature than his father, like the fact that he has a job, and the fact that he anticipates his father wrong-doing as is aware that it is a morally incorrect action. In addition, Bruno assumes a protective role towards his father, against the people that are humiliating him and he also has the ability to forgive and accept his father as a human being who commits mistakes, but is still lovable.
In conclusion, I think that Vittorio De Sica is trying to create a work of ‘realism’ in the sense that he is trying to explore, understand and offer a truth about the historical and social context of Italian society in the aftermath of WWII. Nevertheless, I think that one should always look at this type of ‘realism’ with care and awareness, because there is no such thing as the truth. Ultimately, it is only a partial truth, one that represents only one version and point of view.
Bibliography:
• Barsam, Richard; ‘Reality perceived and recorded’ in Nonfiction film: A Critical History; Indiana University Press, 1993.
• Bazin, Andrè; What is Cinema? Vol.1; University of California Press, 1972.
• Bazin, Andrè; What is Cinema? Vol.2; University of California Press, 1972.
• Curle, Howard & Snyder, Stephen (eds.); Vittorio De Sica: Contemporary Perspectives; University of Toronto Press, 2000.
• Marcus, Milicent; Italian Film in the Light of Neo’realism’; Princeton University Press, 1986.
• Sontag, Susan; On Photography; Picador, 2001.
• Williams, Raymond; ‘Naturalism’ & ‘‘realism’’, in Keywords; Fontana, 1976.
Ladri di Biciclette is often considered together with films like Roma, Città Aperta and Paìsa as the one of the most representative expressions of the Italian Neo-’realist’ film movement of the 1940s. In my assignment, based on the last sequence of Ladri di Biciclette, I intend to explore and analyse how might the nature of the subject of the film, be it the subject as in the protagonist character or as in the thematic subject matter, and the way in which the director constructs the treatment of such subjects be read as ‘realist’. I think that it is important to reinforce the idea that despite the film being ‘realist’, as most of the arguments in the course of this assignment will support, it is nevertheless a director and writer’s construction, even more because Ladri di Biciclette is a fiction film in which an enormous amount of time was placed in developing the script, contrary to what is sometimes said about many of its scenes being improvised.
Before I move into a closer analysis of the film and the extract, I believe that it is important to establish clear meanings for ‘realism’ or ‘realist’, as they are central words for the discussion in this assignment. First, ‘realism’ or ‘realist’ can be seen as a method of representing objects, characters or events as faithfully as possible to their real equivalents in terms of their appearance. Second, ‘realism’ can be seen as a conscious commitment to understanding and describing psychological, social and physical forces in our world. In other words, unveiling the truth behind the surface of things.
Ladri di Biciclette came out in 1948, three years after the end of the World War II, in the same year of the victory of the Christian Democratic Party over the Popular Front in the general elections in Italy. The historical context of the film is then one of political instability, filled with corruption in all the government institutions, and with enormous ruptures and disequilibrium in social classes. The unemployment rate was very high and there was immense poverty among the people. All these aspects are permanently present in the film and shape the world of the action where the main character, Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani), desperately searches for his stolen bike together with his son Bruno (Enzo Staiola). Because of this realistic portrayal of the society as it would have been during the aftermath of the WWII, Ladri di Biciclette has been praised, particularly by Andrè Bazin, as being a relic or index of pro-filmic events. In other words, due to the accuracy of the representation of historical and social facts, the film encapsulates a trace of reality. Following on from the same way of thinking as Bazin, Susan Sontag writes:
“It [a photograph] is also a trace, something directly stencilled off the real, like a footprint or a death mask.”
In the film, the protagonist is an ordinary working-class man similarly to many other thousands, and the problem that he faces, the search for his stolen bike, is, as the film suggests, a problem that also affects many other people from the working-class. As Andrè Bazin suggests, these two aspects render the film as ‘populist’ .
However, contrary to what would be expected from a character of this nature, the film often puts Ricci in opposition to the masses - the individual versus the collective. This is what happens in the last sequence of the film, which is set just outside the Olympic Stadium in Rome, right after a football match. In this sequence, Ricci fights the difficult moral choice of either stealing a bike and being able to provide for his family, or not stealing a bike but become once again unemployed. He decides to take the immoral choice of stealing a bike, but is quickly caught by a violent crowd that humiliates him and has no interest in trying to understand his situation. I believe that this conflict between the individual and the masses suggests a criticism from De Sica of the fact that, despite the working class being in a very precarious social situation in Italy at the time, people do not share the expected sense of co-operation and solidarity.
This sequence, which starts with Ricci and Bruno wandering in the streets of Rome before arriving at the stadium, can be considered as ‘aesthetic realism’. Among several elements that could be read as supportive of this point, I want to draw attention to four. Firstly, the predominant shot sizes in the sequence are the Long Shot (full figure) until they reach the stadium, and the Medium Shot (waist up) during the long moment when Ricci ponders on his dilemma of whether to steal a bike or not. There is no use of close shots, where only the face of a character is shown, even in highly dramatic moments such as the crying of Bruno when he sees his father being caught and humiliated. Secondly, many of these shots are accompanied by either pannings or travellings, which allow for the possibility of creating more naturally-flowing shots, as well as shots that can follow the action for a longer time. Thirdly, the screen duration of the shots is quite long, and these have usually great depth of field. Fourthly, there are a considerable number of subjective shots of Ricci, which place the audience in the character’s ‘physical’ position, rendering the events as more realistic.
Nevertheless, there are elements that oppose the ‘realism’ to which I have just been referring. Among these I believe that the most obvious one is the way in which the soundtrack for the scene is constructed. The soundtrack, I would suggest, is not bound by ‘realist’ choices, but rather by dramatic ones. The use of ambient sounds is present, but of secondary importance in relation to the use of almost continuous music; this is built on multiple variations of the theme of the film, as well as the use of specific instruments that punctuate the crucial dramatic moments of this sequence. Particularly significant is the use of a soprano saxophone to intensify the moment just preceding the stealing of the bike, and the use of an alto saxophone that plays a tune along with Bruno crying, just after he picks up his father’s hat. Besides the soundtrack, I also found that there is a use of effects in the cuts in the first part of the sequence, particularly the use of two dissolves and a wipe. Like the soundtrack, the reason behind the use of these effects is a dramatic, rather than a ‘realist’ one. The effects contribute to create a continuity of mood, despite the fact that there is no continuity of either space or time between the initial shots where Ricci and Bruno wander in the streets. Lastly, there are also some travellings that do not have an action motivation. They are only used to visually dramatize specific moments: the travelling forward that follows the passage of the cyclists, by moving in to Ricci’s medium shot in order to underpin his emotional reaction.
As a whole, despite the obvious use of a realistic filmmaking style, dramatic motives are, ultimately, more important for Vittorio De Sica than an obsession with realism as an end in itself.
Lastly, I think it is important to go back to the issue of the subject of the film. Despite the criticism of Italian society implied in De Sica’s treatment of the film’s subject matter, the fact that Bruno is a child is crucial to the impact of De Sica’s message of an underlying hope for a different future. This is reinforced by the fact that Bruno has some characteristics that hint at a more conscientious generation to come: in several moments of the film he appears to be more mature than his father, like the fact that he has a job, and the fact that he anticipates his father wrong-doing as is aware that it is a morally incorrect action. In addition, Bruno assumes a protective role towards his father, against the people that are humiliating him and he also has the ability to forgive and accept his father as a human being who commits mistakes, but is still lovable.
In conclusion, I think that Vittorio De Sica is trying to create a work of ‘realism’ in the sense that he is trying to explore, understand and offer a truth about the historical and social context of Italian society in the aftermath of WWII. Nevertheless, I think that one should always look at this type of ‘realism’ with care and awareness, because there is no such thing as the truth. Ultimately, it is only a partial truth, one that represents only one version and point of view.
Bibliography:
• Barsam, Richard; ‘Reality perceived and recorded’ in Nonfiction film: A Critical History; Indiana University Press, 1993.
• Bazin, Andrè; What is Cinema? Vol.1; University of California Press, 1972.
• Bazin, Andrè; What is Cinema? Vol.2; University of California Press, 1972.
• Curle, Howard & Snyder, Stephen (eds.); Vittorio De Sica: Contemporary Perspectives; University of Toronto Press, 2000.
• Marcus, Milicent; Italian Film in the Light of Neo’realism’; Princeton University Press, 1986.
• Sontag, Susan; On Photography; Picador, 2001.
• Williams, Raymond; ‘Naturalism’ & ‘‘realism’’, in Keywords; Fontana, 1976.
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