Is There Fulfillment in the Bicycle Thief?

Neorealist films seem to focus mainly on lack and try to show that no matter what, substance and fulfillment are never achieved. Rome, Open City illustrates the lack through loss of life, money, and freedom. Shoeshine portrays lack through deception and family issues, ultimately ending in the loss of life. It is strange, then, to watch Bicycle Thief that seems to have dissenting viewpoints on lack. One viewpoint is Antonio's which focuses on masculine lack and is given form through his bicycle (or lack there of). The other view is a little more interesting and comes from Antonio's son Bruno who is constantly reminding the audience that Antonio has no masculine lack. Bruno's ideology will have the audience believing that the lack is all in Antonio's head and even though he has no job, he has not lost his masculine identity. Overall the film shows that though Antonio represents his manhood with the bike, Bruno is a constant reminder that his father's manhood cannot be stolen so easily.

In order to show the different viewpoints on Antonio's lack it's important to establish how Antonio feels about himself. The first scene that gives an indication of his association between the bike and his manhood is when he first retrieves the bike from storage. Accompanied by his wife, Antonio sells their bed sheets to have enough money to buy their bike back. First we must notice that Antonio's wife has been by his side through his jobless time. It is easy to see the love between the two, and an important component of masculinity is sexual and loving relationships. However, Antonio seems to be preoccupied with buying the bike back and not with his wife. While he is paying the worker to retrieve his bike, Antonio points out exactly which bike was his almost forcefully. This begins to show his psychological connection with the bike and that he will not accept any other. To further this association, after Antonio gets the bike, there is a close-up of Mrs. Ricci smiling, then a cut to Antonio rolling the bike towards her. With a tracking shot, the camera follows the two as they walk out of the shop. Instead of sharing the joy he has with his wife, Antonio constantly stares at the bike with a smile, seeming to be reunited with a part of himself. We also notice how old, dirty, and torn the bike is during this sequence. Even though Antonio thinks so highly of the bike, it is not in great condition. If this tattered bicycle represents his masculinity it shows how impotent Antonio felt without it.

The film doesn't stop showing Antonio's bond with the bike as he makes his way to his new job. Antonio carries the bike on his shoulder in the warehouse with him, refusing to put it down until the boss asks him. Andre Bazin writes in his article titled "Bicycle Thief" that "the choice of a bicycle as the key object in the drama is characteristic both of Italian urban life and of a period when mechanical means of transportation were still rare and expensive" (Bazin 50). It is his way to get a job, but also a way to fill a void in his life. Never while he has the bike does a smile leave his face. To close the scene, Antonio leaves the warehouse to find his wife waiting for him. He hops on his bike and helps his wife get on too. As they ride off Antonio is now sharing his happiness with his wife. With his bike he is fulfilled and this is as close to any sort of sex that appears the film. Antonio Ricci has shown how much the bike means to his masculinity within the first ten minutes of the film and it will take Bruno the remainder of the time to convince his father that his masculinity goes much deeper than that.

At this point the Bruno is introduced as a boy who seems to just follow his father around. In fact, Bruno does not just follow his father around everywhere for no reason, he follows him around because he wants to emulate and love his father. While getting ready for work in their apartment Antonio is wearing his new uniform and Bruno is cleaning his father's bicycle. The son comments on how the bike has been damaged sending Antonio into denial. Already we see the two ideologies differing. Bruno's stance is that his dad is masculine without his bike, but Antonio cannot see that. There are moments here that show how much of a father and husband he is that go beyond his job. We follow Antonio into another room where he receives his hat from Mrs. Ricci. They proceed to joke around with each other and show their strong bond, which is further evidence of their strong love and affection for one another. Moving back into the bedroom Antonio continues to get ready for work, only to be mimicked by Bruno. Bazin writes that, "the complicity between father and son is so subtle that it reaches down to the foundations of the moral life" (Bazin 53). This argument is exemplified here. Not only are they dressed similar, but Bruno follows his dad's lead and puts his lunch in the breast pocket of his shirt. The camera follows the two around the room at a medium close-up, showing that nothing else matters beyond the love between the father and son.

It is at this point that Antonio's ideas about his masculinity are put back into question. He can easily laugh and joke back with his son, but instead he leaves the frame and picks up the bicycle and carries it around with him. Bruno continually looks at his father, but Antonio is continually focused on his transportation. After the bike is first stolen Bruno waits for his father to come and pick him. When he arrives without the bike, the young boy still looks at his father and follows him intently. It appears that he is still happy with Antonio as a father and wants to grow up to be a man just like his dad. Antonio even shows signs of compassion and care, both associated with being a great father (which is very masculine). The camera tracks with the two while they are walking and Antonio fixes Bruno's scarf because he doesn't want him to catch a cold. Antonio could be focused on events such as these, but instead he is worried about his job and his bike. Granted, they would be poor, but he has been living for about a year without a job already, so it doesn't seem as though they would be kicked out of their home. A steady income and a job would help tremendously, but it is not the sole ingredient for masculinity.

A possible turning point for the workman is at the bridge. After just scolding his son Antonio searches for the old man to help him find the bike and allows Bruno to sit by himself. This is maybe the biggest lapse in parental judgment that Antonio has made. While following Antonio with the camera, the sound of yelling enters the soundtrack saying that someone is drowning. Turning in the direction of the noise, Antonio begins to walk with some concern. The camera tracks with the worried father as he speeds up. A cut is followed by another tracking shot with much the same effect, except this time the camera holds and watches Antonio run underneath the bridge into the shadows. He has entered complete darkness. As Bazin puts it is "the supposed death by drowning of the child, in making the father suddenly realize the relative insignificance of his misfortune, creates a dramatic oasis at the heart of the story" (Bazin 54). This is the first time that it is clearly not about the bicycle, but about his son. A close-up of Antonio's face when he realizes that it is not his son in the water relates a sense of relief, only to be followed by joy as there is an eye line match from Antonio to his son on top of the steps. Again the camera holds and watches Antonio run in the direction of his son, only this time it is bright and he is filled with joy instead of fear. This leads to the first time that Antonio actually seems interested in the boy. A tracking shot that is similar to many of their other scenes shows the father looking at the boy instead of the other way around. The masculinity of being a good parent has taken over Antonio. At least for the moment he has stopped thinking about the bike. Unfortunately, this realization is only short lived and his ideology eventually embarrasses him in front of his son.

The final scene of the film shows the diversion between the father and son's viewpoints the most significantly. Right after Antonio decides to steal the bicycle he tries to send Bruno home on the trolley. The first action that Bruno responds with is the same as he has been doing the whole movie, he walks after his dad. But Antonio doesn't want his son to see him steal, so he insists. Bazin says, "it is the admiration the child feels for his father and the father's awareness of it which gives its tragic stature" (Bazin 53). Earlier in the film Antonio may have attempted to steal the bicycle even if Bruno was present. The bicycle will still give Antonio a sense of fulfillment and complete his masculinity, but he doesn't want to disrupt the boy's viewpoint of him. Of course, Bruno does witness his father's crime.

Shots of Antonio stealing the bike cut to Bruno's stunned face and back to Antonio eluding the crowd following him. A close up of Bruno's face shows how upset he is until he runs out of frame after his father. No matter what Antonio does, Bruno will still follow him and try to be with him. Shots from inside the crowd of Bruno trying to get his dad's attention show to what lengths the boy will go. After the commotion dies down and they begin to walk home, Antonio cannot bear to look at his son. Bruno, of course, looks at his father in the same way he has the whole movie. In Bazin's article is says that "the tears they shed as they walk side by side, arms swinging, signify their despair over a paradise lost" (Bazin 54). This is absolutely true and shows that even without money or a job, Antonio is still a great man to Bruno. As they walk, Bruno grabs his father's hand, illustrating his admiration and love for Antonio. Bazin writes, "the son returns to a father who has fallen from grace...the hand that slips into his is neither a symbol of forgiveness nor of a childish act of consolation. It is rather the most solemn gesture that could ever mark the relations between a father and his son; one that makes them equals" (Bazin 54). This doesn't seem to be the case because it doesn't match up with the rest of the movie. Shots that are almost identical to this previously in the film have all signified Bruno's willingness to follow and attempts to emulate his father. It doesn't look like the son is equal to the father, but that the son has forgiven the father and will continue to follow him no matter what. Finally Antonio has realized that his actions were not in the best interest of himself or his son.

Throughout Bicycle Thief Antonio Ricci tries to fulfill what he thinks is the missing piece of his masculinity. By using his bicycle to signify his manhood, Antonio not only isolates his son, he also loses sight of his present masculine qualities. Bruno works to show the opposite in his father. He tries to bring out the masculine qualities that he has seen in Antonio every day of his life. By emulating his dad and looking up to him, Bruno allows his dad to mess up many times without losing what was most important to him. Not only does Bruno give Antonio the opportunity to change, he may also have given a neorealist film an opportunity to end with some sort of success.