- Seeing Antonio steel the bike at the end makes us rethink the circumstances that might have prompted the first man to steal Antonio’s bike. Necessity and personal circumstance now become factors that we as viewers consider, given our emotional investment in Antonio and his son Bruno. Earlier, we didn’t know anything about the thief that took Antonio’s bike, and therefore we as viewers likely didn’t consider that the thief could be motivated by personal circumstances. The title of the film itself (Bicycle Thieves) suggests a shared circumstance.
- The final scene of Antonio disappearing into the crowd with his son, along with the scene of selling the bed linens to the pawn shop, suggest a collective trauma in the form of economic recession; that this is a period that people are surviving together collectively.
- The idea of aesthetic of depiction implies that the viewer plays the role of the “seer” and that shots are constructed in a way that situates the viewer precisely in the role of she/he who sees. This requires an active viewer. Long duration shots, wide-angle shots, and still shots draw the viewer in and entice the viewer to study the scene. This style of cinematography support an aesthetic of depiction.
- Antonio hitting his child and the camera following Antonio into the card reader’s apartment are examples help contribute to the pessimistic tone of the film; the story takes a very critical view of modern urban culture in several other ways as well: the long waits for the bus, the precariousness of working class people’s job situation, the plight of orphans and the indifference and neglect shown towards children.
- The experience of watching the film was draining; seemed like the story could have been told in a smaller space of time.
- Should use IMDb to get background info on films via internet, but also limit these searches, meaning only go to IMDb (professor meant to state this in class).
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