In article said:"BudMan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:If anyone is interested. Turner Classic Movies is running the classic movie "The Bicycle Thief"
at 2 AM EST. Here's a brief synopsis of the movie. Italian director Vittorio De Sica's
Oscar-winning 1948 drama follows a father and son through the streets of Rome in search of a
stolen bicycle. Lamberto Maggiorani plays Antonio, a bill-poster whose bicycle is crucial to
keeping his new job. With a sense of desperation, he sets off with his son, Bruno (Enzo
Staiola), on a hunt that takes them to a religious mission, a secondhand bicycle mart and even a
brothel in a search that's continually met with indifference.
From what I understand you ain't a real cyclist until you have read "The Yellow Jersey", seen "A
Sunday In Hell" and "The Bicycle Thief"...after tonight I guess I'll be a real cyclist.
So what is your opinion of the movie now? Can anyone suggest why they didn't use a briefcase
instead of that bicycle?
Well, the bicycle is a McGuffin, but a very natural one given the time and place (post-WW2 Italy).
And of course, a bicycle is an obvious metaphor for freedom even outside of the context of its
necessity as a means of production for Antonio. Plus, it is expensive enough and irreplaceable
enough to be a useful plot device.
Thus, by using the bicycle the writer gets to load a lot of meaning into the McGuffin and still
pretend to be shooting a completely naturalistic little tale of loss, desperation, and survival
economics.
And there you go, the $0.49 Marxist-historian film critique.
--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] (trim trailing t), www.sfu.ca/~rcousine FREE WINONA!
