Winner of an honorary Oscar for best foreign language film (at the
time there was no official foreign language film category), De Sica’s
classic has become one of the foremost examples of neo-realist film
and often places high on lists of the best films ever made. The
story is very simple. In post World War II Rome after a year of
not being able to find a job, Antonio finally finds employment as
a poster hanger. The job requires a bicycle, which is currently
in hock, but steady work is certainly worth paying to get it back.
When the bike is stolen, it is more than the loss of a possession.
It’s the loss of his livelihood, so he and his young son set out
to find the thief and get his bicycle back.
The film contains many of the hallmarks of neo-realism – the use
of nonprofessional actors, the focus on the working class and poverty
– and though it is a response to the European reality following
World War II, it still has resonance today. It is the story of the
loss of dignity suffered by a man who can’t take care of his family
because he can’t find work and the desperation created as he must
struggle in front of his young son. These are themes that are universal
across time and across cultures.
Special film preservation note: We looked hard for a 35mm print
of this great film, even offering to pay to strike a new one. As
is increasingly the case, it is difficult to obtain pristine 35mm
prints of classic films, and digital projection provides the best
possible presentation of these great works.
-- Dan Krovich
Presented By: Harvey Pekar
Biography: Harvey Pekar is best known for his autobiographical
comic book series “American Splendor” and the Oscar-nominated film
of the same title based on his life and comic books. American Splendor
has been published on an approximately annual basis since 1976 and
has been illustrated by high-profile artists such as Robert Crumb,
Frank Stack, and Joe Sacco. The series was honored with the American
Book Award in 1987. He has also been a prolific music and book critic
with reviews published in The Boston Herald, The Austin Chronicle,
Jazz Times, Urban Dialect, and Down Beat Magazine, and collaborated
with his wife Joyce Brabner on the book-length autobiographical
comic “Our Cancer Year.”
Partial funding for this screening provided
by:
