Critics' Pics: Selections from AFI and Sight & Sound
The iconic hallmark of Italian neorealism presented for a 75th anniversary screening.
Hailed around the world as one of the greatest movies ever made, the Academy Award–winning Bicycle Thieves, directed by Vittorio De Sica, defined an era in cinema. In poverty-stricken postwar Rome, a man is on his first day of a new job that offers hope of salvation for his desperate family when his bicycle, which he needs for his work, is stolen. With his young son in tow, he sets off to track down the thief. Simple in construction and profoundly rich in human insight, Bicycle Thieves embodies the greatest strengths of the Italian neorealist movement: emotional clarity, social rectitude, and brutal honesty. [89 min; drama; English and Italian with English subtitles]
“Bicycle Thieves is a wholly satisfying film in that de Sica has so simplified and mastered the mechanics of the job that nothing stands between you and his intention." — Richard Winnington, Sight & Sound
"Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves is tender and immediate, a simple tale of a man whose bike is stolen when his job and life depends upon it." — Kate Muir, Times (UK)
"The work of screenwriter Cesare Zavattini, director Vittorio De Sica, the nonprofessional actors, and many others is so charged with a common purpose that there's no point in even trying to separate their achievements." — Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Any film screened at IU Cinema may contain content that viewers find sensitive or upsetting. Visit our Audience Advisories page to learn more.
