Bicycle Thieves

"Bicycle Thieves is truly one of my favorite films. I could watch it over and over again, and in truth, I have."—Filmmaker Charles Burnett

Charles Burnett is not alone is in his affection for this masterpiece of Italian neorealism. It topped the first Sight and Sound Critics' Poll in 1952, and took sixth place in the magazine's Directors' Poll 50 years later. The deceptively simple story follows a poor poster hanger and his son as they search for the man’s stolen bicycle, a necessity for keeping his job.

De Sica and screenwriter Cesare Zavattini's impassioned humanism illuminates the lives and trials of those living in and struggling to escape poverty with crystalline authenticity. But the film is equally timeless in its study of human relationships and the bonds between parent and child. Bicycle Thieves (then more widely translated as The Bicycle Thief) received an honorary Oscar award in 1950 at a time when the foreign language category had not yet been formalized. (93 mins., 35mm)

Head outside after watching Bicycle Thieves and catch Roman Holiday in our Wex Drive-In screening. (It's sure to cheer you up.)

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