Neorealism In World Cinema

World cinema has seen various different movements and phases throughout history, with American film, Hollywood, being the most well known and successful. Nonetheless after the end of World War II, new film movement emerged that was seen as an alternative to Hollywood. Concentrating more on the everyday struggles, injustice, social concerns, etc. of the poor working class population, the movement offered distinctive and unorthodox techniques of filmmaking and representation in the 1940s and 1950s. The movement is known as the Italian neorealism and there can be found more than twenty classical neorealist films from the period. Bicycle Thieves (1948) by the director Vittorio De Sica is among the top from the movement, as it concentrates on the difficulties of Italian difficult economical and moral sufferings, such as neglect, injustice, and solidarity, through stylistic techniques that characterize Italian neorealism.

Italian Neorealism concentrates on the troubles of working class population of post-war Italy. It dates after the end of World War II, as Italy’s and its people’s psyche and conditions of everyday life were going through major changes. Italian society was facing poverty, oppression, injustice, and desperation; each being major themes in neorealist films. After Italy’s dictator, Benito Mussolini’s (1883 – 1945) execution and Italy’s liberation from Germany in April of 1945, the nation begun to break from old notions to new ways, also know as the Italian Spring . This conformation also affected the film industry that turned towards new (neo) realistic approach. In Italian film history, neorealism is defined as a movement or a trend, rather than an actual school or group of theoretically motivated directors. Ossessione (...

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...s a new subject of knowledge, with filmmaking techniques such as usage of unprofessional casts, avoiding cutting and editing shots in postproduction, and shooting at locations, as well as it challenged post-war Italy’s social wellbeing by addressing the poor working class, with the finales often leaving unanswered questions and no classical Hollywood happy endings by neglecting mise-en-scene. Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves is one of the greats of all time, and delivers all characteristics of Italian workers everyday life in the most realistic and touching way, making the audience think about the actions and relationships. While Roberto Rossellini, Federico Fellini, and Luchino Visconti are amongst the best neorealist followers, and filmmakers in general, Vittorio De Sica hits the audiences with his masterpiece Bicycle Thieves even today, far from post-war Italy.