Movie #18: Released in 1948, directed by Vittorio De Sica, 89 minutes. Seen it before.

LetterBoxd Score: 5 stars

I saw this as an undergraduate, with a big group of college students; I guess it would have been about twenty years ago now (good God). At the time, I thought it was clearly a masterpiece, though a bummer. Twenty years later, it holds up!

This is one of those perfect movies. It’s an elemental story, kind of akin to Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans: man searches for a stolen bike. But at the same time, it feels like we go on a journey, both external, to different parts of the city, in pursuit of different minor goals, and internal, as mounting desperation fractures a life and relationships (with time, the quip from parasite that “she’s nice because she’s rich” resonates more and more with me). It’s about something important, and it explores its ideas from various angles without making a simple pat explanation.

The cinematography is immersive but almost invisible; you are just there, in this city, observing these people.

The characters are simultaneously archetypes for a broader category (the downtrodden breadwinner; the child), while also being fully realized in the acting. You feel these are 100% real people with real stories and lives at stake.

And it makes you feel. Oh that poor boy! Oh that dad, agonizing over what to do! The tensest scene I’ve felt in one of these sight and sound movies so far is probably the one where the dad decides whether or not to steal another bike.

Why would someone think it’s one of the ten greatest films ever made?

It’s perfectly made; it’s about important stuff; it’s influential. What more can you say? I might rate it as one of the ten greatest films ever made myself.

Next week: The Third Man