De Sica’s neorealist film “Bicycle Thieves” is an encompassing piece that details the undue hardship Italy faces postwar 1948. There are various aspects within the film, which demonstrate the undeniable pure quality of De Sica’s work, however, I believe the relationship between father and son, and gender roles are most critical to examine in this particular motion picture. Antonio Ricci, played by Lamberto Maggiorani, and Bruno, portrayed by Enzo Staiola, are two central figures within the film. Both characters provide a realistic and authentic interpretation of the individuals in Italy post war, this offers the audience an opportunity to comprehend the raw emotions individuals embraced in Rome during the era in which this masterpiece was released.
Antonio’s relationship with his son endures a clear transformation throughout the duration of “Bicycle Thieves.” A connection shifts from the dependence on a father to support his son, to Antonio’s undeniable reliance on Bruno in order to cure his absurd emptiness, alienation, and loneliness. The audience is able to witness this unquestionable love between the two
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An object Antonio can never buy, nor find, is that of his son’s indisputable loyalty and compassion. I found it interesting to watch the roles reverse when Bruno witnesses Antonio steal, ultimately reaching his lowest point throughout the film, completely making a fool of himself to t he people of Rome and above all, Bruno. The comfort Bruno offers Antonio once he extends his hand to comfort his father at the end of “Bicycle Thieves”, reassures their unbreakable bond and outlines the vulnerability Antonio faces without Bruno’s presence. Another critical aspect of “Bicycle Thieves” which poses great significance to my overall interpretation of Rome and Italian society are gender
Antonio Márez, or Tony as he is often called, is the main character in Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima. He is the youngest of all of his siblings, but in him is pinned the hopes of both of his parents. All of the events that he goes through in the short time Ultima is with his family makes it so that he grows well beyond his years, and his notions of the peaceful, unchanging world are shattered forever. Once sheltered from everything, Antonio’s experiences cause him to question all that happens around him. He spends a long time pondering the meaning of justice and is forever torn between the different worlds he is exposed to. Throughout the book, Antonio is forced to face the different paths his future may hold, that of being a farmer or priest or a man of the llano, or his own man. Antonio is exposed to the grown up world and is forced to choose between maintaining his innocence or to face the answers to all questions the world around him leaves him asking. On his journey, Antonio is torn between the worlds of the Catholic Church he was raised in and that of the Golden Carp and the world of Ultima that he is introduced to. All of these inner conflicts and outward realizations transform Tony from a young boy, to a young man more aware of the world around him then most adults are.
The binary opposition of Antonio’s mother and father are one of the major central conflicts. Antonio resides between the Lunas and the Márez tradition, two families that see no common ground. His passage into maturity is one that forces him to decide between his mother and his father, the moon and the sea. During one of Antonio’s dreams he sees his births. This birth shows him the Lunas and the Márez arguing over his future and the presents they bring represent that. The Lunas bring fruit from their farm, they expect Antonio to respect his mother’s side and honor either the land or the heavens by becoming a farmer or priest. The Márez, who expect him to become a cowboy, smash the Lunas offering and present their own emblematic gifts. This profession is represented by his father’s dream of moving to California when becoming a vaquero is no longer a real option (Novoa, 4). Antonio’s dream ends with Ultima solving the problem, and becoming the bridge between the two worlds, something she frequently becomes for Tony. Antonio feels that he must choose one of the traditional pa...
The gangster genre within films in America has accomplished numerous positive criticisms and constant willing audiences due to containing outstanding spectacles and mind-blowing action. The Godfather, being second on the IMDb Top 250 Movies, has set a new popular concept to life within the Mafia from their point of view. Doing so, creating a positive association. Yet within Italy, the same topic contains a complete different view. Movies such as I Cento Passi demonstrate unenthusiastic view by those whom are outside yet negatively affected by those members. Unlike American films, the gangsters are not as often viewed at the protagonist and are the main causes for the problematic events. But how different is Italian Mafia and American Mafia in cinema?
As we traverse through time and history the world goes through many different phases; some of these phases have no similarity to the last and some overlap with one another. One of the phases Italian cinema went through was Neorealism. Like everything else, every phase comes to an end. Vittorio De Sica’s Umberto D was considered the moving away from Neorealism in Italian cinema history. Umberto D did, however, carry aspects of neorealism just as Bicycle Thief, also by Vittorio De Sica, does during the prime of Neorealism.
The four scenes that best illustrate the theme of selfishness and the realities of a self-centered life, and empathy are the first scene in which Juvencio begged his son to save him, the scene in which Juvencio describes the crime he committed with a total lack of empathy, the scene in which don lupe describes the viciousness with which Juvencio killed his father, and the scene in which don lupe’s son orders that Juvencio be killed. All of these factors add up to a very interesting work of
Antonio Márez, the main character of Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, begins the Departure element of Joseph Campbell’s Hero Cycle when he initiates his journey to adulthood. He questions whether he belongs to his mother’s family, the Lunas, who live as farmers, or his father’s family, the Márezes, who freely wander the land. His care for his family demonstrates his maturity in attempting to always do the best he can for everyone. Although his parents each want him to follow their families’ paths, they remain absent from Antonio’s true journey of understanding his own thoughts and beliefs, leaving him “frightened to be alone” (Anaya 7); the lack of parental support through his personal conflict leads him to have trouble knowing how to address his confusion, but it also causes Antonio to develop an independence that most people do not possess.
Claudio's interest in Hero is on account of her wealth, but her outward beauty also attracts him. Claudio is hence revealed to be a slave to social assumptions. He regards love and marriage as a sensible way in which to obta...
The Bicycle Thief is a portrait of Italy's collective consciousness, haunted by its disturbing past and disillusioned towards its future. Works Cited for: "The ' URL:http://www.film.queensu.ca/Critical/Bonikowski.html.
Stolen Children is a Gianni Amelio’s magnum opus and a tragic salute to neorealism. The film follows a carabinieri, Antonio, who was assigned to escort two southern orphans in northern Italy to a Catholic orphanage, but when that proved to be unsuccessful, he took it in his hands to escort the children back to southern Italy. Gianni, much like De Sica, explores the issue of failed institutions that are fundamental to a contemporary society or an individual in need of help. When these central institutions, such as the church or law, begin to deteriorate, so does the community that relies on them. He also makes a point of criticizing post-modern institutions, such as the role of media in current society and its socio-cultural impact. This criticism begins the fundamental conversation, postmodern society should concern itself with to improve one’s present civilization.
Ignazio Silone’s Bread and Wine became one of the most controversial as well as influential novels in Italy during the early twentieth century. Bread and Wine is set in rural impoverish Italia countryside under the Catholic and fascist control. It begins with Don Benedetto, an elderly priest and his aged sister are waiting for visitors to come celebrate his birthday. These visitor’s are some of his favorite students who have grown up and moved away. In their reminiscing, Don Benedetto begins to ask how other student lives have turned out after all these years. Including his favorite pupil, Pietro Spina. The former students explain that Pietro Spina had become a communist revolutionary and was exiled from Italy, and is on the run from police who are hunting him. Don Benedetto asks the student to aide Pietro in his return to Italy. At this point the novel begins to focus on Pietro Spina and his return to Italy. Pietro aided by his childhood friend Nunzio dons the disguise of a Catholic priest called Don Paolo Spada. However, Pietro Spina has abandoned the religious beliefs and ideas of becoming a saint that he once had as a child and now in his adult life is considered to be a fervent atheist making; this disguise quite ironic. While in disguise, Spina becomes exasperated with the strong catholic beliefs and superstitious ideas which are the basis of thought of the peasants he is trying to influence. This brings about the continuous theme of socialism and Christianity as well as the question surrounding all the characters within the novel, “How can a decent person act in a terrible time?”1 Silone uses this questions to explore how the political views of fascism within the Catholic church effects uneducated peasants withi...
Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani) is a poor man who is excited when he is finally offered work: conveying and setting up motion picture blurbs. In any case, he needs a bike, and should supply his own, so his better half Maria (Lianella Carelli) pawns the family's whole load of bed material to reclaim the bike he had just hawked. On his first day at work, the opened machine is stolen and Antonio drops everything to go on a urgent odyssey through the roads of Rome with his son Bruno (Enzo Staiola) to recover his bicycle, arguing and blaming and revealing scenes for neediness like theirs wherever they go. They make turmoil in exemplary group minutes: in the avenues, in a market, in a congregation mass. Faces dependably accumulate ardently around the combine, all remarking, griping and by and large amplifying the father and child's pain and embarrassment.
Through this essay Richard Rodriguez writes about his experiences as a son, and as a student. Through his relationship with his parents the reader can see how Rodriguez was separating for his
He is a man with a child, a family, a group of friends, and a life. The growth and development the audience sees between his personal issues, his love for family, and his unfortunate death all appeal to the humanitarian aspect of Italian Neo-Realist Cinema, marking its influence on the way Coogler portrayed this idea to the
Print. The. Weisberg, Richard H. "Antonio's Legalistic Cruelty: Interdisciplinarity And The Merchant Of Venice'." College Literature 25.1 (1998): 12.
William Shakespeare shows how two tradesmen can have completely different lives when others view them differently in the play The Merchant of Venice. In the play, Bassanio, Antonio’s friend, needs money to pursue his love. They seek a loan from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender in Antonio’s name. The contract is for three times the value of the bond in three months or else Shylock cuts off a pound of flesh from Antonio. While all this is happening, there are love plots going on. One of which is for Shylock’s daughter to elope with Lorenzo, a Christian. Later on, Antonio’s source of money, his ship, is reported sunken in the English Channel, dooming him to the loss of one pound of his flesh. There is a trial on the bond, and when it seems sure that Antonio will die, Portia, disguised as a doctor of laws legally gets Antonio out of the situation and Shylock recieves harsh penalties. Antonio and Shylock, two similar businessmen of Venice, are viewed differently and are treated oppositely to heighten the drama of the play and mold a more interesting plot.