The Story of Moving Images on Celluloid and Beyond
Mikey and Nicky
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Fides
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?
For a film based in realism, the great symbolism found in the bike showcases many aspects of a working life during this period in Rome. The bike mainly represents the idea of hope. Hope that the father has for the future of his family and his wealth of career. Some prominent examples of this showcased phenomenon are found within how the bike is utilized as a central plot aspect, and how the characters of the film interact with the bike. Aside from the name itself, meaning faith, the bike is a direct showcase of a new groundbreaking opportunity for the money tight family. With the bike in his possession, the father has access to a new advertising job which pays a great amount. This amount would completely change the family’s life and future. The family had faith in this opportunity to the point of selling their bedsheets to retrieve their bike. Once the family retrieved the bike, the father and child spent great amounts of time repairing and restoring the bike in a single scene, showing the great emphasis of promise for a better future the family places on the bike by wanting it to be as successful as possible. However, everything changes when the bike is stolen. Immediately, the father loses all hope for his future job in a scene where he slumps down on the ladder just after his bike was stolen, placing great emphasis on how he risked everything to succeed in this way and lost. When the father goes to the police station in hopes of receiving assistance in finding the bike, the police station provides zero assistance and hope of discovery. This clearly represents the culture and city’s perspective and hope for a better future. In fact, they seem to be avoiding it entirely by practically forcing the father out of the station. By the end of this sequence of scenes, the police had shown that they had absolutely zero faith in finding the bike which itself provided great hope and prosperity to the family which owned it.
In the movie, Bicycle Thieves, the bicycle referenced in the title is named “Fides” which is Latin for “faith”. However, like the movie name suggests, the bicycle is stolen from the main character, Antonio. This not only represents the loss of his bicycle, but also the loss of all the faith Antonio has left in the world. This is due to the fact that there are no jobs Antonio can get for himself nor his family, as he lives in post WWII Italy, which is ravaged by poverty. Antonio lives in this poverty, and was jobless for a good while, before he was blessed with a job as a postal worker. However, the job requires a bicycle, and his bicycle was stolen from him on his first day on the job. Not only does this mean he can’t work, but it also means he is unable to provide for his wife and two children. There is no hope or faith in his world, because he is unable to get a job without a bicycle, which is why the bike’s name of “Fides” means so much. Bikes, in this movie, represent faith and security. With a bike, you are able to have a job, provide for your family, and live with some sense of wealth. However, for those without a bike, they have no job; they are unable to provide for their family and have no hope of living. Antonio, having lost his bicycle and faith, tries to steal someone’s else's bike, but botches the operation and is ridiculed. Having nothing to look forward to in life, Antonio slips into a crowd of other bike-less, faithless people going back to their families, unable to put food on the table, clothes on their backs, nor money in the bank.
Vittorio De Sica's 1948 Italian neorealist film The Bicycle Thief is a timeless testament to the human condition related to pride. The bike itself symbolizes Antonio’s faith and future success. At the film's heart lies the exploration of desperation, poverty, and the fragile threads that connect us to our basic needs. The film centers around Antonio Ricci, a formerly unemployed man who lands a job hanging posters around the landscapes of post-war Rome. His lifeline to employment is a humble bicycle named appropriately, “fide,” for faith. However, Antonio’s apparent come-up takes a tragic turn when the bike is stolen on his first day at work, plunging him into a challenging quest to recover it. The loss, however, extends beyond the material; it represents Antonio's quickly diminishing grasp on hope and stability, unraveling the fabric of his well-being. As previously mentioned, before his employment, Antonio was nothing. It was only through his work and his bicycle that he achieved a purpose and a means to support his family. Now, circumstances appear bleak as only on the first day of work Antonio loses his bike, an act that will indeed act as a catalyst for his dismissal from employment. Antonio, realizing this, tries his best to pursue the bike thief and reclaim his bike and, in turn, his “faith.” The bicycle, an illustrative embodiment of Antonio's dignity and economic survival, also echoes the broader struggles faced by the common man in post-war Italy. De Sica succinctly captures the cycle of poverty and desperation, emphasizing how a single event can shatter an individual's fragile equilibrium. Beyond the keystone symbol of the stolen bicycle, other motifs help further the film's narrative. For instance, the recurring element of mirrors serves quite literally as a reflective commentary on societal disparities, exposing the stark contrast between Antonio's struggles and the indifferent affluence of those around him. The film does a wonderful job of highlighting the economic dichotomy of post-war Rome through the characters of Antonio and invites the viewer along for a solemn and desperate journey. I recommend this film to any film enthusiast because of its unique use of metaphors and motifs as well as its greater commentary.
For a film based in realism, the great symbolism found in the bike showcases many aspects of a working life during this period in Rome. The bike mainly represents the idea of hope. Hope that the father has for the future of his family and his wealth of career. Some prominent examples of this showcased phenomenon are found within how the bike is utilized as a central plot aspect, and how the characters of the film interact with the bike. Aside from the name itself, meaning faith, the bike is a direct showcase of a new groundbreaking opportunity for the money tight family. With the bike in his possession, the father has access to a new advertising job which pays a great amount. This amount would completely change the family’s life and future. The family had faith in this opportunity to the point of selling their bedsheets to retrieve their bike. Once the family retrieved the bike, the father and child spent great amounts of time repairing and restoring the bike in a single scene, showing the great emphasis of promise for a better future the family places on the bike by wanting it to be as successful as possible. However, everything changes when the bike is stolen. Immediately, the father loses all hope for his future job in a scene where he slumps down on the ladder just after his bike was stolen, placing great emphasis on how he risked everything to succeed in this way and lost. When the father goes to the police station in hopes of receiving assistance in finding the bike, the police station provides zero assistance and hope of discovery. This clearly represents the culture and city’s perspective and hope for a better future. In fact, they seem to be avoiding it entirely by practically forcing the father out of the station. By the end of this sequence of scenes, the police had shown that they had absolutely zero faith in finding the bike which itself provided great hope and prosperity to the family which owned it.
ReplyDeleteIn the movie, Bicycle Thieves, the bicycle referenced in the title is named “Fides” which is Latin for “faith”. However, like the movie name suggests, the bicycle is stolen from the main character, Antonio. This not only represents the loss of his bicycle, but also the loss of all the faith Antonio has left in the world. This is due to the fact that there are no jobs Antonio can get for himself nor his family, as he lives in post WWII Italy, which is ravaged by poverty. Antonio lives in this poverty, and was jobless for a good while, before he was blessed with a job as a postal worker. However, the job requires a bicycle, and his bicycle was stolen from him on his first day on the job. Not only does this mean he can’t work, but it also means he is unable to provide for his wife and two children. There is no hope or faith in his world, because he is unable to get a job without a bicycle, which is why the bike’s name of “Fides” means so much. Bikes, in this movie, represent faith and security. With a bike, you are able to have a job, provide for your family, and live with some sense of wealth. However, for those without a bike, they have no job; they are unable to provide for their family and have no hope of living. Antonio, having lost his bicycle and faith, tries to steal someone’s else's bike, but botches the operation and is ridiculed. Having nothing to look forward to in life, Antonio slips into a crowd of other bike-less, faithless people going back to their families, unable to put food on the table, clothes on their backs, nor money in the bank.
ReplyDeleteVittorio De Sica's 1948 Italian neorealist film The Bicycle Thief is a timeless testament to the human condition related to pride. The bike itself symbolizes Antonio’s faith and future success. At the film's heart lies the exploration of desperation, poverty, and the fragile threads that connect us to our basic needs. The film centers around Antonio Ricci, a formerly unemployed man who lands a job hanging posters around the landscapes of post-war Rome. His lifeline to employment is a humble bicycle named appropriately, “fide,” for faith. However, Antonio’s apparent come-up takes a tragic turn when the bike is stolen on his first day at work, plunging him into a challenging quest to recover it. The loss, however, extends beyond the material; it represents Antonio's quickly diminishing grasp on hope and stability, unraveling the fabric of his well-being. As previously mentioned, before his employment, Antonio was nothing. It was only through his work and his bicycle that he achieved a purpose and a means to support his family. Now, circumstances appear bleak as only on the first day of work Antonio loses his bike, an act that will indeed act as a catalyst for his dismissal from employment. Antonio, realizing this, tries his best to pursue the bike thief and reclaim his bike and, in turn, his “faith.” The bicycle, an illustrative embodiment of Antonio's dignity and economic survival, also echoes the broader struggles faced by the common man in post-war Italy. De Sica succinctly captures the cycle of poverty and desperation, emphasizing how a single event can shatter an individual's fragile equilibrium. Beyond the keystone symbol of the stolen bicycle, other motifs help further the film's narrative. For instance, the recurring element of mirrors serves quite literally as a reflective commentary on societal disparities, exposing the stark contrast between Antonio's struggles and the indifferent affluence of those around him. The film does a wonderful job of highlighting the economic dichotomy of post-war Rome through the characters of Antonio and invites the viewer along for a solemn and desperate journey. I recommend this film to any film enthusiast because of its unique use of metaphors and motifs as well as its greater commentary.
ReplyDelete