The Bicycle Thief

Watched Vittorio de Sica's 'The Bicycle Thief' today and I think its one of the best, most touching, most well-made films I've ever watched...

The story, set in post World War II Rome, centres around two days in the life of a man named Anotnio.  It begins with him getting a job and realizing they won't hire him without his bicycle... and when he finally gets it, it gets stolen. Antonio then ,with his son Bruno and a friend, sets out to find the bicycle thief...

I loved the way each tiny detail was captured in this film... nothing missed and not a single thing too blatantly expressed. Whether Antonio was treating his son to a meal they couldn't afford... or cornered in an alley trying to fight off a mob of men angry at one of them being accused of stealing the bicycle... he is heartbreakingly real. And you wish with him for his job to be saved... for his bicycle to be found...

My favourite character though is Bruno. He takes the cake for being the perfect boy... endearingly following his father around, examining each cycle bell, each tyre to see if it could've been part of theirs. Preparing to pee on a wall in the middle of a chase :)... Shutting a window before leaving home to protect his baby sister... and trying and tripping and tripping and still trying to keep up with a grown man's long strides...Bruno...is absolutely adorable :)

I couldn't help but love the characters... I couldn't but be absolutely involved... Everything a film should be... this film was.

Loved it.