Bicycle Thieves

Bicycle Thieves (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Director : Vittorio De Sica
Cast : Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell
Language : Italian

Ladri di biciclette, Italian title for The Bicycle Thieves is written and directed by Vittorio De Sica is an Italian Neorealist film. I have to certainly mention that this director is an expert in this Neorealist kind of film making.Set in the post World War II economic crisis situation in Italy, tells the story about the family of an unemployed man Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani ) and strugle to  get and hold on a job while the family faces financial assistance.

Antonio Ricci  lives with his wife Maria Ricci (Lianella Carell) along with his two children’s. Bruno Ricci (Enzo Staiola) is his seven years old eldest son.When the post World War II economic crisis deepens it hits most of the families and Antonio Ricci’s is one among them.Antonio Ricci is an unemployed due to the crisis and searches for a job.Luckily Antonio gets one job offer as wall poster which desperately needed a bicycle.Antonio accepts the offer but unfortunately the bicycle he owns has been pawned, and to get it back needs some more money.Antonio’s wife Maria then pawns their beadsheets in order to get the required money.

Antonio happily goes to his job with his bicycle for the first day.One young robber steals Antonio’s bicycle while he is busy with his work on the street where the bicycle been kept nearby a wall . Antonio tries to catch the thief but couldn’t make it on the busy streets of Rome.Antonio complains to police but it’s of no use.He then along with his friend and his son Bruno goes to Rome’s largest square Piazza Vittorio,in search where there are lots of bicycle parts selling and bicycle making shops been present.

One day Antonio identifies the thief and tries to follow him till his home,but the thief been protected by the thief’s neighbores.Police too couldnt able to make any action as the case is weak and has no evidence.When there is a strict rule been there like “No Bicycle No Job” Antonio and his son loses hope and walks towards a crowded street where a match goes on nearby football stadium.Both father and son see a lot of bicycle been flying on the streets and several been parked.Without knowing what to do next Antonio came to see a bicycle been parked alone on a nearby street where the street been empty.

Antonio asks his son to catch a bus and wait for him on a different place. Antonio tries and steals the bicycle which has parked alone on the entrance wall of an apartment and tries to escape from the spot.The owner of the bicycle reaches out immediately and shouts to catch Antonio. Antonio been caught by the public and gets beaten by them as Bruno too witness the situation.When the public asks the owner what to do for Antonio , he tells them to handover him to police.Bruno comes near to his father Antonio on the spot, by seeing Bruno’s worried state the owner asks the public to let Antonio leave as he suffered for his act already.Antonio then realizes and feels for his guilt and walks along with his son on the crowded streets.Bruno holds his father’s hand to comfort him and the film ends.

I was deeply moved by the film till before the end.As i love and wish to watch always a happy ending one or a positive kind of stuff at the end or on the whole.Its rare to watch those along with the quality.But for some great movies and for some legendary directors whom tries to explore real life characters and to create impact on what they wish to present the audience to think about certain realities, we can’t expect our own tastes to get fulfilled all the times.Bruno performance as young son is so matured.The screenpay and the direction by Vittorio De Sica is a master piece one to say.Its beyond the words of praising and wondering such kind of movies as it was released on 1948.I still wonder the quality and beauty of film making.

Awards and Honours:

* Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland: Special Prize of the Jury, Vittorio De Sica; 1949.
*  National Board of Review: NBR Award, Best Director, Vittorio De Sica; Best Film (Any Language), Italy; 1949.
* New York Film Critics Circle Awards: NYFCC Award, Best Foreign Language Film, Italy; 1949.
* Academy Awards: Honorary Award, Italy. Voted by the Academy Board of Governors as the most outstanding foreign language film released in the United States during 1949; 1950.
* Academy Awards: Nominated, Oscar, Best Writing, Screenplay, Cesare Zavattini; 1950.
* Bucharest Film Festival: Golden Wolf for Best Film; 1950.
* British Academy of Film and Television Arts: BAFTA Film Award, Best Film from any Source; 1950.
* Bodil Awards, Copenhagen, Denmark: Bodil, Best European Film (Bedste europæiske film), Vittorio De Sica; 1950.
* Golden Globes: Golden Globe, Best Foreign Film, Italy; 1950.
* Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain: CEC Award, Best Foreign Film (Mejor Película Extranjera), Italy; 1951.
*  Kinema Junpo Awards, Tokyo, Japan: Kinema Junpo Award, Best Foreign Language Film, Vittorio De Sica; 1951.
* Best Cinematography (Migliore Fotografia), Carlo Montuori.
* Best Director (Migliore Regia), Vittorio De Sica.
* Best Film (Miglior Film a Soggetto).
* Best Score (Miglior Commento Musicale), Alessandro Cicognini.
* Best Screenplay (Migliore Sceneggiatura), Cesare Zavattini, Vittorio De Sica, Suso Cecchi d’Amico, Oreste Biancoli, Adolfo Franci, and Gerardo Guerrieri.
*  Best Story (Miglior Soggetto), Cesare Zavattini.

 

Life is Beautiful

Life Is Beautiful (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Director: Roberto Benigni

Cast: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini

Life is beautiful is an Italian movie Acted , co-written and directed by Roberto Benigni.Usually Foreign language films  has an opportunity to get a spot for the Oscars through the Best foreign language film category. But few extraordinary films has an exception in which they can be nominated in other major categories for the Academy Awards, in which again very few won on those and Life is Beautiful is one such.The move is set before and after the World War II period.

Guido Orefice(Roberto Benigni) is an Italian Jew who has charismatic character and a funny young man.He fell in love with an upper class non-Jewish girl Dora(Nicoletta Braschi) and marries her.Both were real couples in Off-screen too.Dora’s family opposes their marriage.Dora stays away from her family and leads a happy life.Soon they have their son Giosuè (Giorgio Cantarini) and Dora later rejoins with her family on her son’s fourth birth day.All goes in happy and peaceful way until the family faces tough time when the World war II begins.As Jewish Guido and Giosuè have to onboard the train which leads to the concentration camp.Rather being an non-Jewish Dora too wants to onboard the train and joins with her family.Guido’s family have to face tougher times as men and women were separated in the concentration camp.

Guido wants his son Giosuè not to get affected by the current situation, so he doesn’t show any unhappy symptoms on his son.He plans and explains his son that all people came to this place to play a game.And the first person to get 1000 points is the winner who gets a Tanker.Guido also warns his son that if he asks for his mother or asks for more food the points will get reduced and the quite boys who hides from the camp guards will gain more points.Guido’s cleverer moves on each situation makes Giosuè feel as if it’s a game.Towards the end one night Guido asks his son to hide on a sweatbox in order to search for his wife as the American forces were advanced.Unfortunately Guido was caught by the security guards and been shot dead.Without knowing what happened to his dad Giosuè waits inside the box until next morning and comes out.Giosuè saw an American Tanker which headed towards him on the street.Giosuè assumes that he won the game.He was then taken by the American soldiers in the tank and while they travel on the roadside Giosuè suddenly saw his mother on another side and happily rejoins with her.

Movies towards the end  is very hard.You can just feel it.Life is beautiful has been narrated and acted extremely well by Roberto Benigni which won him an Oscar for his performance.Eventhough there are number of  World War II periodic films been there, very few can impact the audience with the harder times our past generations have came across and Life is beautiful  is one such really beautiful film though it’s hard to digest.

Awards:

1999 Academy Awards:

Best Actor (Roberto Benigni)

Best Orignal Music

Best Foreign language film (Italy)

1998 Cannes film festival

Grand Prize of the Jury

 

Umberto D.

Umberto D. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Director : Vittorio de Sica
Cast : Carlo Battisti, Maria-Pia Casilio, Lina Gennari
Umberto D. is an Italian neorealist film directed by Vittorio de Sica.It tells the story about Umberto Domenico Ferrari (Carlo Battisti) an old man lives in Rome who depends entirely on his pension.There are only very few main characters in this film which revolves around Umberto D., his pet dog (Flike) and a maid (Maria-Pia Casilio). Neorealist films focusses on day-to-day life of poor and middle class people who faces poverty and depression and usually in such kind of movies the characters will be played by unprofessionals.

Umberto lives in an apartment on a small room as a tenant.The landlady (Lina Gennari) informs Umberto to vacate the room as she believes that Umberto wont suite for her social life style anymore. Umberto has to pay an amount of fifteen thousand lire for the landlady.A maid in the apartment helps Umberto for his basic needs.Umberto is very close with his pet dog named Flike and his companion too.Umberto sells his books and watch to collect some money for the rent, but can able to gather only few amount.Meanwhile the maid will inform Umberto that she has an affair with two men, but both of them neglects her once they came to know she is pregnant.

Umberto feels very lonely,insecure and depressed.One day he calls the emergency to admit him on the hospital so that he can save some of his pension amount and can get a place to live.But soon after he was discharged, he goes back to his apartment and shocked to see that his room is on renovation process.Being understood that he can no longer be allowed in his room for the stay, he leaves the apartment with his dog.Umberto tries to put his beloved dog on one care takers house.But he changes his mind when he feels that care takers wont take care of flike as he wishes.He then leaves the place with Flike.On his way some children’s starts playing with Flike, by watching this  Umberto tries to leave the place silently.But this too fails as Flike follows and searches for Umberto.Finally Umberto tries for a suicide attempt on a rail track with flike.Flike then escapes himself from Umberto’s hand and runs away.Umberto then calls for Flike and realises his mistake and gains his will to live along with Flike.

The first half of the movie goes as usual , but i was really moved and impressed with the second half of the film in which i have admired Vittorio de Sica’s master work.Its simply a spellbounding towards the end.At one stage Umberto tries to beg with the help of Flike,but changes his mind later which shows only certain circumstances leads a person to take some wrong decisions, which Vittorio de Sica had also depicted in his earlier film “The Bicycle Thieves”.Umberto’s sincere care to keep Flike comfortable shows his kind heart.Even with minimal dialogues Vittorio de Sica had conveyed a lot through his frames which leaves the audience to think about from then on.

Awards:
Nominated for Best Screenplay at 1957 Academy Awards
Nominated for Grand Prix at 1952 Cannes Film Festival.