Monday, October 31, 2016
Keep Your Eyes on the Eyes
Bicycle Thieves is not only a movie about looking for a bicycle -- it's also a movie about looking at other people. Many of the most memorable moments of Bicycle Thieves are scenes in which the main characters look at each other: Bruno looking at his father on their way to work, Bruno looking in shock as his father slaps him, Antonio looking in relief as he finds his son. In the final scene of Bicycle Thieves Antonio looked at his son Bruno before his desperate act, and most dramatically Bruno watched Antonio steal a bicycle, get caught and suffer public humiliation. What do these scenes tell us about relationships in the film? About community? About emotions? What about scenes in which a character fails to look at another (as when Bruno falls and Antonio does see it)? What is the significance of the look?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
ReplyDeleteThese scenes tell us about who has power in the situation, and who gains or loses it. During the slap scene, Antonio has power over Bruno. The camera was in Bruno’s perspective, the way Antonio stands over his son, shows that he is attempting to assert dominance over him. While Antonio may have power over Bruno is this moment- that look also reveals the loss of the respect for his father, it seems to wallow in the disappointment of his father’s newfound character. Before Bruno “looked up to his father” then suddenly, the camera was straight on. Not only, revealing an act of defiance, but a lack of respect. Similarly, during the scene where Antonio steals the bike in desperation, he demonstrates to his son the bad that they were fighting from the beginning of the movie. During this act, Bruno is basically raising his father, as if the roles were reversed. He picks up his hat, while crying, and attempts to stop him from being arrested. During these scene, the look is again, a realization of the person Antonio had become. As if he is a father watching his son go to prison. This look tell us that the relationships built in this film are based off of action. Instead of Antonio ever saying he loved his son, he shows it. He takes Bruno out for food when he basically has no money, sells his sheets to provide for his family, and wakes up at the crack of dawn to work so that his family can thrive. In the beginning, it is evident that Bruno thinks very highly of his father, he even imitates him when he goes to work. The significance of the look is to simply, observe. To me, it is a moment where the character really comprehends the action of another character and conjures an emotion to go with it. Whether to be happy, sad, astonished, disappointed, all of these looks are processing a feeling into an emotion based on the situation. The look also acts like a mirror that reveals the character of the person.
More than meets the Eye
ReplyDeleteThe communication through eye contact has been a skill trait most effectively used by humans. Things characters do and do not see have a greater symbolic value in films than looked upon. In the Italian neo-classical film, Bicycle Thieves, interactions between Antonio and his son Bruno are filled with moments of hidden significance. One of the more obvious connections between Bruno and his father is shown during the morning scene where the two are preparing for work; Bruno continually looks back at his father and mirrors his movements, and they even end up dressing the same way. Bruno both figuratively and literally looks up to his father. This cute scene allows audience to grasp the sense of how large of a role model Antonio is to Bruno. While Bruno looks up to his father, Antonio also sees Bruno as his own man but still cares for him as a son; these themes are show through what Antonio cannot see. In one scene while Bruno is following his father he trips and Antonio takes no notice. Antonio knows Bruno can take of himself, but still worries for him when he loses sight of Bruno and thinks he is drowning. By watching the eyes of characters, viewers are able to derive relationships without consciously knowing it. From these relationships watchers also gets a sense of the culture in which the film takes place, and from Antonio and Bruno’s interactions sees the importance of the father-son relationship as well as the independence youth.
Keep thine eyes upon Seventh-Heaven, dear, and never fear for we art with you till TheEnd.
ReplyDeleteGod bless your indelible soul.
Keep thine eyes upon Seventh-Heaven, dear, and never fear for we art with you till TheEnd.
ReplyDeleteGod bless your indelible soul.