Bicycle Thieves Ambiguity

'The Bicycle Thieves' is simple story set against the backdrop of post-war, poverty stricken Italy. It focuses on the story of a man, Antonio, searching for his bike that was stolen from him with his son Bruno. Although the story seemingly is focused on one man and his son, it depicts the struggles of many others throughout the film.

Morality also plays large role in The Bicycle Thieves. The viewer understands that it was wrong for the their to steal the bicycle from Antonio, but after seeing where he lives it is apparent that he only stole the bike to support his family, it is easy to understand that it was done out of desperation and not out of pettiness. The moral ambiguity in the film creates makes it hard to discern who is truly in the right. Originally the viewer starts out feeling quite sorry for Antonio. Just as fortune favors him and it seems he and his family will have a chance at a better life, it is torn away from him. Antonio eventually
becomes obsessed with finding the bike, and loses sight of his family and Bruno. He fails to realize that even if he loses his bike, and thus, his job, his family's love is not contingent on either of those things. Many of the up close shots of Bruno's face in the film serve as a reminder that he is the "moral center" and constantly remind Antonio that he must be a role model for him. Antonio is forced to choose between serving as the family's provider or being a good role model for his son.
As the film progresses we learn more about the character's lives.
Antonio initially comes across as a pragmatic individual mainly concerned with providing for his family. He teases his wife for her decision to visit a local mystic, but he later returns to visit the mystic after his bike is stolen. The psychic gives him some vague, unhelpful advice, but the point of this is to show that even the most practical people will look for relief and assurance from questionable sources when they have lost hope. As the narrative unfolds we can see that the bicycle becomes a greater and greater priority for Antonio, and it reaches the point where the material concern of the bike, as evidenced by the scene where Antonio and Bruno follow the suspicious elderly man into the church, Antonio is obvious the fact that questioning the man during the church service is not the best time for him to conduct his inquiry. The church provides a refuge for the less fortunate, but it serves only as an obstacle for the Ricci's and their
search.

There are points in the film where it seems that Antonio remembers that the bike is less important than his family. Namely, the scene where Antonio hears that a boy is drowning and assumes that it is Bruno. This seems to help Antonio get a better perspective on things, albeit temporarily. Other moments like this are the scene at the restaurant where Antonio remarks to his son "There's a cure for everything but death." His optimism drains away however, as he notices the wealthy family sitting near them, and thinks of all the things the bike, and therefore his job, would have brought them had it not been stolen. Even when Antonio finally finds the thief, he is unable to be compensated because of lack of evidence, and he is ridiculed by the thief's neighbors until he leaves. As Antonio and Bruno walk together in the final scene, Antonio starts to cry, and it is clear that they are doing no better than they were at the start of the film. Bruno reaches for his father's hand, and this seems to show that if nothing else, at least their relationship is stronger. The final shots of the scene show the rest of the crowd in which Antonio and Bruno are walking, showing that they are just one family amongst the hundreds that are suffering.

The theme of ‘chance’ is prominent in the narrative of the film. At first of course there is the theft of the bicycle, later on Antonio mistakenly identifies an old man at a church as the thief, there is a costly fortune-teller that provides meaningless information, and finally Antonio is caught as a criminal in a situation where he had originally been the victim.

Aesthetically speaking, the bleakness of the film is mirrored in its black & white film, as opposed to the Technicolor process which was also popular at this time. Today we associate color with realism, but in the case of 'The Bicycle Thieves' the black & white serves only to highlight the grimness and dreariness of the narrative.
A significant scene is when Antonio is being taught to put up the posters. There is a long shot of Antonio with a fellow employee standing next to a billboard with ladders on either side. As the two men discuss the job, a couple of children are in the foreground. A man then comes into the shot walking away from the camera, who the children follow and ask for money. The camera pans left to follow them, even though this serves no particular purpose in furthering the narrative. Shots like these occur throughout the film, showing the viewer details of reality across the screen. Another significant part of the poster scene is that the poster depicts Rita Hayworth, a symbol of glamour and wealth amongst the poverty of post war Italy.