Bicycle Thieves

Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves (Ladri di biciclette, 1948) is unarguably one of the most important films in the history of cinema. It is also one of the most beguiling, moving, and seemingly simple works of narrative ever made. The film tells the story of one man and his son as they search fruitlessly through the streets of Rome for his stolen bicycle; the bicycle which had offered the possibility of escape from the poverty and humiliation of long-term unemployment.

One of a cluster of e...