Depression
Simply Smashing movie by Gary Sinese
When people say "American Classic" I immediately think boring. But this movie was a nice exception to that.
On a ranch in 1930’s California two men, George (Gary Sinise) and Lenny (John Malkovich), struggle to earn some money to buy a small house and a little bit of land for a farm. George, the small one has to look after the mentally challenged, but physically large Lenny. Things get worse with an accidental murder. Because of that George has to make the hardest decision of his life.
Gary Sinise and John Malkovich did a wonderful job portraying their characters.
What this movie lacks in action it makes up for in suspense, morals, and emotions. You are always wondering what the fate of the two friends will be. This movie follows the line “The best laid schemes of mice and men often go askew.”
A father goes out of his way to find a bicycle that was stolen that is vital for his life,job and his family.
The Film “The bicycle Thief” also known as “ladri de biciclette” was directed by Vittorio De Sica. This film takes place in Rome right after World War II in postwar ravaged which we all know cause’s pain, depression and very hard times for everyone. But in this case it was particularly hard for a certain family. Antonio Ricci (played by Lamberto Maggiorani) a father and husband of two had finally got a job that was posting posters of Rita Hayworth. Which could help his family but he needed a bicycle .So his wife and him decide to sell there sheets at the pawn so they can buy the bicycle they need and so they do. Everything is going great he’s learning how to properly post the poster when all of a sudden someone steals his bike which is heartbreaking for him because it is very vital for him and his family. He later returns home to pick up his son Bruno (played by Enzo Staiola) so they could go to an underground union. There he meets one of his friends who is willing to help him search for his missing bicycle the next day. So they go looking for it on the streets and in shops where bicycles are bought and they look and look but sadly they have no luck in finding the bicycle .So one of the men offer’s to give him and his son Bruno a ride to the nearest exchange when all of a sudden it starts to rain .As soon as this happens Antonio and Bruno take shelter by the wall form the rain .Soon after the rain start to give up and they are able to go look for the bicycle while they begin to walk ,Antonio sees a man exactly like the guy who stole his bicycle so he starts to run and Bruno began to follow his father on a chase that ends up dead because they did not catch the guy .But luckily there was someone talking to him so they go after him and follow him into a church .Where they spot him and where Antonio decides to get information of where the thief went and so he does but before he leaves he tells the old man that he will come with them and the man obviously does not agree and runs away .Sadly they still have no way of finding the bicycle so Bruno suggest they go eat and they do right after this Antonio gets and idea of visiting the charitable lady who his wife had went to for getting a job and so they go she tells them that “ you will find it now or you will never find it. “When she finishes Antonio and Bruno leave then suddenly Antonio sees a suspicious boy who is wearing a German cap exactly like the one the thief was wearing so he chases him and grabs him and demands the man to give him his bike back and the man says he does not know what he I stalking about .Soon people see this and start to gang up on Antonio luckily his son ran to go get a cop before this and the cop stops them form ganging up on Antonio which prevents him from getting beaten up. So they search the house and find no bicycle yet again .So Antonio and his son leave and start to walk towards the stadium and Antonio sees all these bikes by themselves and get an Idea because he see one by it lonesome self .He then tells Bruno to get on the streetcar and he will meet him home .As soon as Bruno starts to walk towards the street car Antonio heads for the bicycle and gets on it obviously panning to steal it and doesn’t get away with it because someone sees and they get him while everyone is gathered around Antonio and the owner of the bicycle Bruno manages to squeeze in and the owner sees his son and feels sorry for him a lets him go .So in the end they don’t ever find the bicycle which is pretty sad but it shows a lesson . In watching this film you think that everything is always going to be chipper and happy but sadly that’s a fairy tale and this film shows it .So over all I really enjoyed this film because it teaches a lesson and films that teach a lesson or have a moral do a great part in everyone’s life. As far as cinematography goes it was well put n very neat .If you are willing to learn something from a film I suggest this to be one of the films you watch.
A thing as simple as a bicycle could change this man’s life drastically if he has it or doesn’t
This film takes place in Italy after World War II during their depression; the main character is able to get a job posting flyers around the city but needs a bike for this job. So he and his wife have to sell some of their things to buy a bike. The first day on the job his bike gets stolen. He tries to chase after the thief but has no luck in catching him. The main character, Antonio and his son, Bruno have to go around looking for the thief and the bike. Finally, when they think they’ve found the guy there is no evidence to prove he had stolen it. Antonio has to choose between keeping his job by stealing a bike or losing everything and being an honest person. In desperation he makes the choice to try to steal a bike but in the end fails. The owner of the bike lets him go when he notices Antonio’s son standing next to him; his real punishment is having to deal with his son now viewing him differently. In the end they walk off, both serious and Antonio’s eyes begin to water. To be honest at first I wasn’t too happy with the idea of watching a movie about a man searching for a bike. I knew it would be incredibly sad since it takes place during the depression. But once I started watching it I saw the rawness of it all. It makes you think about choices you have to make even if it means going against what is right. This movie is far more then just a man looking for his bicycle. This story has a few different meanings at least my interpretation of it does. It’s about how people deal when things start to get difficult. The movie also shows the importance of family; Antonio is frustrated about his lost bike and how nothing seems to be working out for him and unintentionally takes it out on his son. But that all changes when he thinks his son is in danger. It could be about how you might lose something and if you spend all your time thinking about that one thing, you might lose something far more important to you. It would be nice if they did find the bike, but if they did it would just be any other happy movie. Unfortunately life isn’t always happy endings and we aren’t always able to get what we want or need. Because it has such a dramatic ending the viewer thinks about the meaning of it all. Why did it end like that? What’s the moral? Maybe it’s trying to say you don’t have things for very long so appreciate them. Once the movie is over, you able to take everything in and think about the title. The original Italian title Ladri di Biciclette really translates into Bicycle Thieves but I prefer the title The Bicycle Thief, it’s more subjective. This title makes you question who the real bicycle thief is. Is it the man who stole Antonio’s bike (even though we really don’t know who exactly stole it) or is the real thief Antonio? Overall I’d say it’s a great movie but I won’t be watching it again anytime soon, it’s too depressing.
