When Antonio's bicycle is stolen, he loses more than a bike. The brand name of the bicycle "Fides" (Faith in Latin) suggest it has symbolic value. What is the significance of that symbol? What does Antonio lose? Are there other symbols in this film?
When Antonio's bicycle was stolen the brand name "fides" suggest the idea that Antonio eventually loses faith as the film proceeds. Though it was not visible at first I feel that the concept of utilizing the term "fides" was to show how Antonio lost his faith as the story came closer to an end. In the beginning of the film, Antonio seemed to display traits but determination to get his bike back. He was even willing to find the pieces of his bike since the idea was thrown out that his bike was in the "black market". Though Antonio did not find his bike then, he was still willing to keep searching for his bike. Again, Antonio was persistent, and came very close to finding the person who possessed his bike however, after chasing a man he saw with his bike, and approaching the thief who actually stole his bike, he still ended up empty handed. Finally, after Antonio came close to finding his bike so many times, his loss of faith started to infiltrate his mindset. A prime example of Antonio and his loss of faith was when he took his son to a restaurant and spent some of the little money he had on food for him and Bruno. One could argue that his faith was not necessarily decreasing, but his realization of the importance of Bruno was rather taking effect. While that point seems justifiable, Antonio's persistence still became less intense because his faith that he would re-encounter his bike was decreased after coming so close to finding his bike. Finally, the most obvious moment that Antonio had lost his faith was when he attempted to steal another person's bike. Antonio had no longer contained the same determination he did in the beginning of the film and had come to the final conclusion that he would never find his bicycle. Overall, the word "fides" on the bike represented the faith Antonio had before his bike was stolen, however, when Antonio's bike was stolen, he began to lose his faith that he would find his bicycle overtime.
The Bicycle Thief is more than just story about a man who loses his bike and searches inconclusively until he settles into desperation. The story is really about a man who loses faith; literally, the make and model of his bike is “Fides” which means “faith” in Latin. Knowledge of this reveals a hidden and deeper meaning that would have been obvious to any Italian at the time this movie was made. To Antonio, the bike is his faith. He gives up many things important to him and his family trusting that the bike will end his long time bout of unsuccessfulness and provide for his family. But then he loses “faith.” His bike is stolen and his problems return, only worse than before. His life begins to sink, leading him to damage his relationship with his son in a bout of anger. This sequence of events has a clear Christian undertone; the loss of faith in God leads to your biggest trials in life. This theme continues when he tries to relieve his pain and shame by splurging on food, spending money he doesn’t have, just to try and forget his bad circumstances for a little bit. Antonio continues to spiral into desperation which eventually leads him to try and steal another person’s bike. As we all know he gets caught by the owner and his friends. When he has lost all hope his son appears, and like Jesus is to Christians, becomes his savior. Not only does his son forgive him for everything he gives Antonio a new type of faith, one not based on material goods.
When Antonio’s bike is stolen, he is sent on a rampage throughout the city to get it back. Since the brand of the bike is Fides which translates to faith, it seems that he is destined to lose his own faith. Although this is eventually the case, Antonio’s journey is initially fueled with good intentions and a drive to provide for his family, since the devastation of losing his bike means that he can no longer work. Antonio slowly becomes more and more desperate in his journey with his young son, Bruno. Once Antonio goes to the psychic-type woman and she tells him that if he does not find his bike immediately, it is gone, he should have known to go home. All of the evidence up until this point in the film was showing Antonio that all hope was lost. All faith was lost, in fact. After seeing this woman, Antonio’s journey takes an even worse turn. Even though he is able to find the thief, there is nothing that anyone can do to get him his bike back. And yet, Antonio still finds a way to make this day worse. He decides to try to steal a bike, just as his had been stolen from him. Not only is he caught, but he mortifies his son by showing how losing faith can destroy a man. Along with the bike showing a loss of faith for Antonio, the expensive meal that he and Bruno share displays the difference in socioeconomic status in Italy in this post-World War II time. Antonio had almost lost Bruno, or so he thought, so he felt it fitting to treat him to a luxury. While enjoying the meal, Bruno sees another young child eating in the restaurant and has a very easy time seeing the difference between the two of them. While Bruno is savoring each and every bite of this glamorous meal, the other child is used to such extravagances and is plowing through the meal as if eating something as trivial as a slice of day old bread. The notable differences between the rich and poor in Bicycle Thieves depict the reality of Italy in the aftermath of the war. Overall, Bicycle Thieves is riddled with symbols that all fall very much within the themes of Italian Neorealism, such as depicting the working class and their struggles.
The bike to Antonio is worth his whole life. In fact, we, the audience, can see this during the film. In the beginning of the film, when Antonio gets his job as a painter, he is jovial and happy. His upbeat attitude is infectious, and it spreads to his whole family. Bruno, his child, seems to be really happy with his father and has his own job at the gas station. However, Antonio’s demeanor changes the moment his bike gets stolen. The look of desperation on his face as his bike is stolen from right under his nose shows the audience how much it means to him. He hopelessly loses the thief among the crowds in the city and is forced to take the bus back to his son at the gas station. When Bruno asks him where the bike is, he doesn’t know how to respond and instead lies and says that the bike broke down. Antonio, in this moment, starts changing as a character. His demeanor and attitude change. He becomes pessimistic and negative, becoming more desperate with every second that passes. He loses himself because he cannot bear to see his family go through any more struggles. But in doing so he hurts them instead. He lashes out at his wife in the scene where he’s trying to get help, and even hits Bruno at one point. This is unlike the man we saw in the beginning, and very much unlike the father or husband that his family know him to be. He yells at the store merchant when he’s looking for the stolen bike and also picks a fight with the kid who actually stole the bike, but does so in a very out of control and public fashion, which prompts the kid to fake being ill and Antonio loses the final chance to get his bike back. At the very end, Antonio, who has been completely broken by this loss of his bike, and more importantly, his life, he tries to steal a bike but ends up getting caught. The bike obviously means everything to him, and he risks everything, his family and his life, in order to try to find it.
As Antonio searches the city to find his bike, he slowly loses his faith. Despite being close to getting his bicycle back, it manages to be just out of reach every time. The bicycle defines his sense of success in life, as without the bicycle, he will not be able to have the job that could improve his family’s lives. Unfortunately, as he continues to search for his bike, he becomes more desperate and colder to his son. Early in the film, he was desperate enough to rebuild his bike if it was taken apart. However, later in the film, Antonio becomes so desperate that he steals a bike in public as his son watches in disbelief. Caught easily, the only reason he does not go to jail is because the victim pities him and especially his son. This is the lowest point of Antonio, and is revealed to be the end, cementing the complete loss of faith and hope Antonio has. In another scene, Antonio is bothering an old man because he witnessed a man riding his bike. This is Antonio at his worst, where he disturbs the peace for his own gains. He continues to bother the old man until he somehow loses track of him. This scene marks Antonio’s corruption as complete desperation and the sense of hopelessness creeps into his mind. Bicycle Thieves also commentates on class differences. Italian Neo-Realism intentionally films in ordinary places and ordinary people. It is a genre that films the struggles of ordinary people. In one scene, Antonio and Bruno are in a restaurant. Bruno watches another child eat his meal. Compared to Bruno, the other child devours his meal and is from a very wealthy family. This clearly shows the differences between the poor and ordinary people and the wealthy as well as exemplifying the struggles of Antonio and Bruno.
Bicycle Thieves follows the story of protagonist Antonio, and his struggle to find not only his bicycle, but his faith that in the end life will work out. Fides, the name of Antonio’s bicycle, means Faith in Latin, which creates a major symbol for the struggles he faces. The bicycle is significant to the plot because it creates the problem and struggle that Antonio needs to overcome. The story takes place in Italy after the war, and the people suffer major poverty. In order to take on the job given to him, Antonio needs his bicycle. Once his bike is stolen, he understands the consequence that without a bicycle he cannot perform the job to support his family. He endures the struggle of searching for the thief, but over time he slowly loses his faith and right judgment. The bicycle is significant because it represents something that he lost, but cannot live without, just like his life in poverty. Antonio, like every common citizen in Italy during this time, suffered from extreme poverty, and everyday battles against the struggle. The bicycle represented one aspect of his life he had faith in to help him break free from poverty and be able to support his family. When the bike is stolen so is his faith in a positive future. By the end of the film, he has lost all of his faith to the point that his desperation takes over and he attempts theft himself. Not only does Antonio lose faith in himself and the world, his son, Bruno, begins to believe there is no hope. Antonio slowly begins to also lose his son because he becomes obsessive of the idea of his stolen bicycle. The bicycle plays a very significant role in the story of Antonio and his constant struggle.
The bike was the symbol of Antonio getting a job that was so important to him and to his family in a time of high unemployment. He was told that if he didn’t have a bike he wouldn’t be able to keep the job. He put all of is his energy and some of his belongings into getting his pawned bike back from the shop. Although the bike wasn’t the best on the market, it was good enough for Antonio to start his job and begin to supply for his family again. But then all in one day, the first day of his job, he loses the bike. The bike was a sign that he had a place in society. His wife and kids had faith that he could bring in a steady income once again. His relationship with Bruno was strong and they worked with each other brilliantly, until he lost the bike. He was late to pick Bruno up from school and then he ignored Bruno’s presence for most of the film. Initially the bike was a way to bring him and his family back together to be happy, but he ended up making himself an outlier. Antonio lost his faith in a brighter future when he lost his bike, and Bruno lost faith in his Father. As sad as this was, it is the reality of many family relations when people lose something that is so important to them. In this film it is a bike, but the bike symbolized the important aspects of family life that people hold dear: faith, love, hope. Bicycle Thieves isn’t about stealing a simple bike, but rather stealing someone’s life and the most important things in it.
In the film Bicycle Thieves, the brand of the bicycle is named “Fides,” which means faith, to foreshadow the rest of the film and the events that are about to come. As the film progresses, Antonio eventually loses more and more faith; he starts out as a very positive and optimistic man, as he has just gotten a well-paying job, however he begins to lose faith once his bicycle is stolen. Once his bicycle gets stolen, he is no longer able to maintain his job, and he begins a desperate search for the bike. He searches day after day for the bike, and multiple times gets close to finding it, however he comes up short every time. Each failed attempt at retrieving his bike leaves Antonio more and more depressed, and his loss of faith is evident. He no longer has faith in society or in himself to find his bike. He loses faith in society because no one seems to care about his stolen bike, as they all do very little or nothing to help him, even if it doesn’t require them to go much out of their way. Antonio’s loss of faith then gives himself what he sees as a warrant for stealing a bike, as he sees it as his only hope left. This is a last resort attempt, as his faith in finding his own bike is so low that he views this as his only option. As if it can’t get much worse for Antonio after stooping down to this level, the dreadful attempt ends up failing, right in front of his own son Bruno. This is the final major part to the loss of faith in this film, as now not only has Antonio completely lost faith in his ability to ever get another bike or his job, but now his innocent son Bruno has been exposed to the horrible act that his father committed, as he had to watch as his father was caught making an appalling attempt at stealing another man’s bike.
To understand the symbol of the bicycle we need to understand what Italian neo realism is. Italian Neo-realism was a movement in Italy post WW2 that dealt with realistic themes in post war Italy. They used unprofessional actors to portray themes of depression, poverty and injustice. Antonio's bicycle represents his belief in the governmental system set up to provide relief for struggling middle class laborers. This feeling was shared by Italian citizens who looked to their government to help them after the war. Instead Italy fell into poverty and many couldn’t find a job anywhere. This is evidenced by the huge crowd gathered outside of the labor office in the beginning sequences of the film. They wait for jobs that will never come, however Antonio receives a job and is ecstatic saying it will change everything to his wife. He begins his job and all goes well until he loses his bike. At this moment viewers can see an immediate shift in his character to a more sullen depressed person. This is because he has lost his faith in his country. The fact that no one can help him retrieve his bike including police, bystanders and others he enlists upsets him. This theft is a symbol for the countries faith in the system being taken away from the people. This loss of faith is also seen in people putting faith in the local fortune teller who tells them what they wish to hear. People always want to be told there is a chance and when the bike was stolen Antonio no longer had a chance.
When Antonio's bicycle was stolen the brand name "fides" suggest the idea that Antonio eventually loses faith as the film proceeds. Though it was not visible at first I feel that the concept of utilizing the term "fides" was to show how Antonio lost his faith as the story came closer to an end. In the beginning of the film, Antonio seemed to display traits but determination to get his bike back. He was even willing to find the pieces of his bike since the idea was thrown out that his bike was in the "black market". Though Antonio did not find his bike then, he was still willing to keep searching for his bike. Again, Antonio was persistent, and came very close to finding the person who possessed his bike however, after chasing a man he saw with his bike, and approaching the thief who actually stole his bike, he still ended up empty handed. Finally, after Antonio came close to finding his bike so many times, his loss of faith started to infiltrate his mindset. A prime example of Antonio and his loss of faith was when he took his son to a restaurant and spent some of the little money he had on food for him and Bruno. One could argue that his faith was not necessarily decreasing, but his realization of the importance of Bruno was rather taking effect. While that point seems justifiable, Antonio's persistence still became less intense because his faith that he would re-encounter his bike was decreased after coming so close to finding his bike. Finally, the most obvious moment that Antonio had lost his faith was when he attempted to steal another person's bike. Antonio had no longer contained the same determination he did in the beginning of the film and had come to the final conclusion that he would never find his bicycle. Overall, the word "fides" on the bike represented the faith Antonio had before his bike was stolen, however, when Antonio's bike was stolen, he began to lose his faith that he would find his bicycle overtime.
ReplyDeleteThe Bicycle Thief is more than just story about a man who loses his bike and searches inconclusively until he settles into desperation. The story is really about a man who loses faith; literally, the make and model of his bike is “Fides” which means “faith” in Latin. Knowledge of this reveals a hidden and deeper meaning that would have been obvious to any Italian at the time this movie was made. To Antonio, the bike is his faith. He gives up many things important to him and his family trusting that the bike will end his long time bout of unsuccessfulness and provide for his family. But then he loses “faith.” His bike is stolen and his problems return, only worse than before. His life begins to sink, leading him to damage his relationship with his son in a bout of anger. This sequence of events has a clear Christian undertone; the loss of faith in God leads to your biggest trials in life. This theme continues when he tries to relieve his pain and shame by splurging on food, spending money he doesn’t have, just to try and forget his bad circumstances for a little bit. Antonio continues to spiral into desperation which eventually leads him to try and steal another person’s bike. As we all know he gets caught by the owner and his friends. When he has lost all hope his son appears, and like Jesus is to Christians, becomes his savior. Not only does his son forgive him for everything he gives Antonio a new type of faith, one not based on material goods.
ReplyDeleteWhen Antonio’s bike is stolen, he is sent on a rampage throughout the city to get it back. Since the brand of the bike is Fides which translates to faith, it seems that he is destined to lose his own faith. Although this is eventually the case, Antonio’s journey is initially fueled with good intentions and a drive to provide for his family, since the devastation of losing his bike means that he can no longer work. Antonio slowly becomes more and more desperate in his journey with his young son, Bruno. Once Antonio goes to the psychic-type woman and she tells him that if he does not find his bike immediately, it is gone, he should have known to go home. All of the evidence up until this point in the film was showing Antonio that all hope was lost. All faith was lost, in fact. After seeing this woman, Antonio’s journey takes an even worse turn. Even though he is able to find the thief, there is nothing that anyone can do to get him his bike back. And yet, Antonio still finds a way to make this day worse. He decides to try to steal a bike, just as his had been stolen from him. Not only is he caught, but he mortifies his son by showing how losing faith can destroy a man. Along with the bike showing a loss of faith for Antonio, the expensive meal that he and Bruno share displays the difference in socioeconomic status in Italy in this post-World War II time. Antonio had almost lost Bruno, or so he thought, so he felt it fitting to treat him to a luxury. While enjoying the meal, Bruno sees another young child eating in the restaurant and has a very easy time seeing the difference between the two of them. While Bruno is savoring each and every bite of this glamorous meal, the other child is used to such extravagances and is plowing through the meal as if eating something as trivial as a slice of day old bread. The notable differences between the rich and poor in Bicycle Thieves depict the reality of Italy in the aftermath of the war. Overall, Bicycle Thieves is riddled with symbols that all fall very much within the themes of Italian Neorealism, such as depicting the working class and their struggles.
ReplyDeleteThe bike to Antonio is worth his whole life. In fact, we, the audience, can see this during the film. In the beginning of the film, when Antonio gets his job as a painter, he is jovial and happy. His upbeat attitude is infectious, and it spreads to his whole family. Bruno, his child, seems to be really happy with his father and has his own job at the gas station. However, Antonio’s demeanor changes the moment his bike gets stolen. The look of desperation on his face as his bike is stolen from right under his nose shows the audience how much it means to him. He hopelessly loses the thief among the crowds in the city and is forced to take the bus back to his son at the gas station. When Bruno asks him where the bike is, he doesn’t know how to respond and instead lies and says that the bike broke down. Antonio, in this moment, starts changing as a character. His demeanor and attitude change. He becomes pessimistic and negative, becoming more desperate with every second that passes. He loses himself because he cannot bear to see his family go through any more struggles. But in doing so he hurts them instead. He lashes out at his wife in the scene where he’s trying to get help, and even hits Bruno at one point. This is unlike the man we saw in the beginning, and very much unlike the father or husband that his family know him to be. He yells at the store merchant when he’s looking for the stolen bike and also picks a fight with the kid who actually stole the bike, but does so in a very out of control and public fashion, which prompts the kid to fake being ill and Antonio loses the final chance to get his bike back. At the very end, Antonio, who has been completely broken by this loss of his bike, and more importantly, his life, he tries to steal a bike but ends up getting caught. The bike obviously means everything to him, and he risks everything, his family and his life, in order to try to find it.
ReplyDeleteAs Antonio searches the city to find his bike, he slowly loses his faith. Despite being close to getting his bicycle back, it manages to be just out of reach every time. The bicycle defines his sense of success in life, as without the bicycle, he will not be able to have the job that could improve his family’s lives. Unfortunately, as he continues to search for his bike, he becomes more desperate and colder to his son. Early in the film, he was desperate enough to rebuild his bike if it was taken apart. However, later in the film, Antonio becomes so desperate that he steals a bike in public as his son watches in disbelief. Caught easily, the only reason he does not go to jail is because the victim pities him and especially his son. This is the lowest point of Antonio, and is revealed to be the end, cementing the complete loss of faith and hope Antonio has. In another scene, Antonio is bothering an old man because he witnessed a man riding his bike. This is Antonio at his worst, where he disturbs the peace for his own gains. He continues to bother the old man until he somehow loses track of him. This scene marks Antonio’s corruption as complete desperation and the sense of hopelessness creeps into his mind. Bicycle Thieves also commentates on class differences. Italian Neo-Realism intentionally films in ordinary places and ordinary people. It is a genre that films the struggles of ordinary people. In one scene, Antonio and Bruno are in a restaurant. Bruno watches another child eat his meal. Compared to Bruno, the other child devours his meal and is from a very wealthy family. This clearly shows the differences between the poor and ordinary people and the wealthy as well as exemplifying the struggles of Antonio and Bruno.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteBicycle Thieves follows the story of protagonist Antonio, and his struggle to find not only his bicycle, but his faith that in the end life will work out. Fides, the name of Antonio’s bicycle, means Faith in Latin, which creates a major symbol for the struggles he faces. The bicycle is significant to the plot because it creates the problem and struggle that Antonio needs to overcome. The story takes place in Italy after the war, and the people suffer major poverty. In order to take on the job given to him, Antonio needs his bicycle. Once his bike is stolen, he understands the consequence that without a bicycle he cannot perform the job to support his family. He endures the struggle of searching for the thief, but over time he slowly loses his faith and right judgment. The bicycle is significant because it represents something that he lost, but cannot live without, just like his life in poverty. Antonio, like every common citizen in Italy during this time, suffered from extreme poverty, and everyday battles against the struggle. The bicycle represented one aspect of his life he had faith in to help him break free from poverty and be able to support his family. When the bike is stolen so is his faith in a positive future. By the end of the film, he has lost all of his faith to the point that his desperation takes over and he attempts theft himself. Not only does Antonio lose faith in himself and the world, his son, Bruno, begins to believe there is no hope. Antonio slowly begins to also lose his son because he becomes obsessive of the idea of his stolen bicycle. The bicycle plays a very significant role in the story of Antonio and his constant struggle.
The bike was the symbol of Antonio getting a job that was so important to him and to his family in a time of high unemployment. He was told that if he didn’t have a bike he wouldn’t be able to keep the job. He put all of is his energy and some of his belongings into getting his pawned bike back from the shop. Although the bike wasn’t the best on the market, it was good enough for Antonio to start his job and begin to supply for his family again. But then all in one day, the first day of his job, he loses the bike. The bike was a sign that he had a place in society. His wife and kids had faith that he could bring in a steady income once again. His relationship with Bruno was strong and they worked with each other brilliantly, until he lost the bike. He was late to pick Bruno up from school and then he ignored Bruno’s presence for most of the film. Initially the bike was a way to bring him and his family back together to be happy, but he ended up making himself an outlier. Antonio lost his faith in a brighter future when he lost his bike, and Bruno lost faith in his Father. As sad as this was, it is the reality of many family relations when people lose something that is so important to them. In this film it is a bike, but the bike symbolized the important aspects of family life that people hold dear: faith, love, hope. Bicycle Thieves isn’t about stealing a simple bike, but rather stealing someone’s life and the most important things in it.
ReplyDeleteIn the film Bicycle Thieves, the brand of the bicycle is named “Fides,” which means faith, to foreshadow the rest of the film and the events that are about to come. As the film progresses, Antonio eventually loses more and more faith; he starts out as a very positive and optimistic man, as he has just gotten a well-paying job, however he begins to lose faith once his bicycle is stolen. Once his bicycle gets stolen, he is no longer able to maintain his job, and he begins a desperate search for the bike. He searches day after day for the bike, and multiple times gets close to finding it, however he comes up short every time. Each failed attempt at retrieving his bike leaves Antonio more and more depressed, and his loss of faith is evident. He no longer has faith in society or in himself to find his bike. He loses faith in society because no one seems to care about his stolen bike, as they all do very little or nothing to help him, even if it doesn’t require them to go much out of their way. Antonio’s loss of faith then gives himself what he sees as a warrant for stealing a bike, as he sees it as his only hope left. This is a last resort attempt, as his faith in finding his own bike is so low that he views this as his only option. As if it can’t get much worse for Antonio after stooping down to this level, the dreadful attempt ends up failing, right in front of his own son Bruno. This is the final major part to the loss of faith in this film, as now not only has Antonio completely lost faith in his ability to ever get another bike or his job, but now his innocent son Bruno has been exposed to the horrible act that his father committed, as he had to watch as his father was caught making an appalling attempt at stealing another man’s bike.
ReplyDeleteTo understand the symbol of the bicycle we need to understand what Italian neo realism is. Italian Neo-realism was a movement in Italy post WW2 that dealt with realistic themes in post war Italy. They used unprofessional actors to portray themes of depression, poverty and injustice. Antonio's bicycle represents his belief in the governmental system set up to provide relief for struggling middle class laborers. This feeling was shared by Italian citizens who looked to their government to help them after the war. Instead Italy fell into poverty and many couldn’t find a job anywhere. This is evidenced by the huge crowd gathered outside of the labor office in the beginning sequences of the film. They wait for jobs that will never come, however Antonio receives a job and is ecstatic saying it will change everything to his wife. He begins his job and all goes well until he loses his bike. At this moment viewers can see an immediate shift in his character to a more sullen depressed person. This is because he has lost his faith in his country. The fact that no one can help him retrieve his bike including police, bystanders and others he enlists upsets him. This theft is a symbol for the countries faith in the system being taken away from the people. This loss of faith is also seen in people putting faith in the local fortune teller who tells them what they wish to hear. People always want to be told there is a chance and when the bike was stolen Antonio no longer had a chance.
ReplyDelete