Throwback Thursday: Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Bicycle Thieves is one of the first classic films I saw and I was completely marveled by it. Reminiscing the film, it still gives me goosebumps and still manages to compel me.

The film has been considered as the greatest film of all time by Sight & Sound just four years after its' release. Though it was not able to maintain the top spot, it still managed to be one of the top ten in British Film Institute's list of films you should see by the age of 14. Sadly, I was way beyond 14 when I saw it, but it was still great nonetheless.

Bicycle Thieves or otherwise known as Ladri di biciclette was an Italian film by directed by Vittorio De Sica released on 1948. The story is very simple; it tells of a poor father in search for his stolen bicycle all over a post-World War II Rome. Without this bicycle, he would get fired from his job and would not be able to provide for his family.

"Seems lame", was my first reaction upon reading the premise of the film but if there is one thing I learned over the past few years, never be too judge mental based on a movie's premise and trailer.

What I definitely love about the film is how it presented the life after the World War II. More importantly, how the people lived after the war. How their decisions affected not only their lives but also other people as well. Throughout the film you will see how there are different people just trying to get through their day. You will see how different people are struggling with their lives hoping for something good to come. 

Sadly, the film is not for everyone. What makes this film a bit tricky is the fact that on the surface, it's all about a man and his son searching in vain for his stolen bicycle. De Sica was wise enough to challenge how much a viewer would be able to understand and how much would he want to understand. He made us think outside the box. To take in more than what we see. Watching this with the goal of finding out whether the protagonist finds his bicycle or not will not help you in appreciating the film.

This masterpiece is indeed timeless. More than 50 years after its release, the film is still relevant in today's society. It mirrors it to the point of nostalgia and sadness that of all those years that passed, though not much has changed, hope still remains.