I first heard about the Bicycle thief (ladri di biciclette, 1948) when I read about satyajit ray, the Indian film maker. It was referenced in the context of inspiring Ray to take the camera and shoot out in the open – which eventually fueled his vision in making pather panchali.

I happened to get hold of a copy of the movie at one of the local stores selling at a really good price (5 SGD = 3 USD) and I immediately picked it up. However, I managed to watch the show only recently but am really glad I did so.

One can guess the direction of this review – it is positive all the way and the movie deserves it well. First off, the movie deserves credit for making the action sequences dynamic. Of course they are pretty silly by today’s standards but looking at some of the shots and imagining it in context of 1948, it feels surreal.

The real oomph in the movie is actually the simplistic linear storyline that taks us through the entire gamut of human emotions. The character that guides us through the movie is Ricci, a poor, unemployed person who gets an opportunity to make a decent living when he gets a decent paying job. The catch is that he needs a bicycle to accept the job. After he manages to retrieve his bike from the pawn shop, he starts his journey in high hopes of giving his wife and son a good life. Then starts the roller coaster – He manages to lose his bike in the city and goes through a number of emotional stares – desperation, frustration, depression, skepticism, faith, rage, denial, jealousy, resentment, and finally shame, embarrassment and realization. It is amazing how such a simple story can take the audience through so many emotions and not feel overly engineered in plot.

The movie works due to its simplicity and realism in the way the characters are portrayed. There are various times in the movie when you think the problem will be resolved but the life as we all know is not always fair and whatever Ricci tries – either good or bad ends up blowing right in his face. The movie gets to a close with Ricci holding on tightly to what is most valuable to him and contemplating on his losses both physical and moral. The last shot of the characters disappearing into a maddening crowd is truly inspired and makes the problems that we have been witnessing as one that is experienced by all of us at situations that are uniquely or own.

It is a great movie that definitely calls for repeated watching.

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