Tuesday, October 23, 2018
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 not see it)? What is the significance of the look?
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In the 1948 Italian film Bicycle Thieves, Antonio and his son Bruno go on a quest to find his stolen bicycle. Along the way, there are many obstacles and twists in his journey. Such as having to go into a church during a service, and walking through large crowds of people- many of which are riding their bikes. While it is Antonio’s bike that was stolen, Bruno still played a major part in the film. The two of them agreed and disagreed at times, but they tried to keep each other in check. The numerous times when they look at each other almost tell their own story, as each one is different in terms of setting and emotion. One could probably look solely at the specific instances where they have these interactions and gain a vague idea of what is happening in the film. For example, when Antonio slaps Bruno, it shows how escalated the problem has gotten. It hints at how desperate and vulnerable Antonio is at that time. It shows Bruno’s innocence and his fragile relationship with his father. By creating scenes which show the progression of a father/son relationship, the film touches on a very important aspect to many viewers: family. By doing this, the film becomes more emotional and personal. I also think there are gender roles in this film. While it is not obvious at first, I think the film would have been much different if it was a mother/daughter, mother/son, or father/daughter. There were not many specific characteristics displayed that were “manly”, but rather how the father/son interaction affects the film’s plot and character development.
ReplyDeleteThe characters of Bicycle Thieves show how relationships are significantly more important than material items, like the bike. Throughout the father-son relationship depicted in Bicycle Thieves, it is obvious that both Bruno and Antonio love and respect each other. The glances between them show this, as they both clearly care about how each action they take is seen by the other. By stealing the bike in front of Bruno, for example, Antonio may seem to be disregarding the relationship and ignoring how Bruno would feel if he saw him, but Antonio finds a deeper meaning to it. The bike is a material item, but Antonio views it as more; rather, he views it as a way to improve the quality of the relationship. The bike is clearly necessary for Antonio to work, which he needs to provide for his family. On top of that, he knows that, not having a job, he would setting a horrible example for Bruno. His job is brand new and telling his son that he lost it, which he never directly does in the film, would be heartbreaking. Clearly, Antonio believes that the risk of their relationship being destroyed by witnessing a bike heist is a better option than simply not having a job and heartbreaking him in that way. The tight bond between the two contrast the community around them. The city folk do not really care when he runs around screaming about his problem and some are actually specifically deceiving him. Scenes in which a character fails to look at the other are meant to show a separate part of a relationship: trying so hard to improve a relationship that it is unintentionally neglected. Antonio is blindly searching for the bike, which would improve the future state of the relationship, and his actions sometimes disregard the feelings of Bruno, which deteriorates the present state of the relationship. Thus, the look is a depiction of the effects of relationships on actions. Bruno would not really care if someone stole a bike; rather, he only cares because it is his father, who he believes is better than a mere thief. He and a stranger would not share looks because they simply do not care about each other enough to do so. Conversely, Antonio probably would not have looked at Bruno at all when he attempted to steal the bike. Just the same, he cares about Bruno, so he does not want to seem like a bad example, but he would not take it personally if a stranger saw.
ReplyDeleteA camera shot of a character's reaction to a particular event establishes the emotions of the event in the minds of the viewers. Generally introduced by a close up shot, a character's facial expression pertaining to a certain event in the film is consistently used as a vehicle to expand the emotional plot. This movie lacked exaggerated action and emotional responses that are typically associated with classic Holly Wood cinema but compensated with exaggerated camera shots. When the camera moves to focus on Bruno's face when Antonio is on his way to work, it forces the audience to pay attention to his expression. His facial expression when looking at Antonio emphasizes the father-son relationship and solidifies Antonio's position as a role model and mentor. The supposed eye contact between the father and son cues for Bruno's emotional development in the plot. Bruno's eyes repeatedly showed the status of their relationship. When Antonio slaps Bruno, Bruno is tearful, in shock, and upset, and he decides to lag behind creating a physical gap between them and in their relationship. Every instance Bruno and Antonio were physically separated was due to Antonio's choice except for this instance. Throughout the film Bruno's facial expressions are reliant on Antonio's actions. Most of the time Bruno's look was in admiration, but when Antonio stole the bike and was publically humiliated there was nothing besides disappointment. In Bicycle Thieves it is apparent that the main focus is on human emotional reaction magnified through expression and eyes. The camera focuses on significant emotional turning points which in turn makes up for its lack of action.
ReplyDeleteBicycle thieves is a movie dealing in subtleties. The strongest of which being the looks that characters give each other. The director manages to distill an incredible amount of emotion into the scenes without drawing them out. I believe this to be due to the fact humans find it incredibly easy to sympathize with the characters as eyes show emotion so clearly. Each scene where a look is drawn out helps illustrate a relation between characters without a single word. When Bruno looks up to his father, we see the admiration he holds for him, and we quickly realize just how much Bruno wants to be like his father. When Antonio is looking from the bicycle to his son, we are able to understand the internal dilemma that is tearing him up from the inside. He realizes the damage he might due to his son’s view of him, but he also realizes that without the bike he will be unable to provide for his son. From the way his eyes dart around we are able to realize he is having trouble making a decision, because he realizes the fact that his action will hurt someone else. His eyes tell the story that is playing out in his head; he cannot decide if he must give into the community that steals from others to benefit themselves. The scenes where an action happens and a character fails to look are almost as powerful as the ones where they do. When Bruno falls and Antonio does not see it, we are shown that Antonio is so focused on his task that he forgot about his own son. It shows us Antonio with a shortcoming that is remedied when we see the relief in Antonio’s eyes when he finds his son after believing he drowned. The entire movie utilizes eyes in order to build character and relations while also demonstrating community dynamics and for that reason I believe eyes to be one of the most powerful components of the film.
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