The Bicycle Thief (1948)

Also sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen by Nietzsche

The Bicycle Thief (1948)

After two years of unemployment, Antonio, a laborer, finally secures a job putting up movie posters around Rome. In order to travel from location to location, he has to have a bicycle, which he gets out of hock by pawning the family's linens. But on his first day of work, the bicycle is stolen. With his son in tow, he explores working-class Rome in search of the thief, who always seems a few steps ahead of him. As his search leads him to a union hall, a fortune teller's and a whorehouse, he grows more desperate until he sees a theft of his own as the only way of saving his family. As his odyssey through working-class Rome grows in stature, Antonio becomes a powerful metaphor for the plight of humanity caught in a hostile universe.

Producer-Director: Vittorio De Sica
Screenplay: Cesare Zavattini, Suso Cecchi d'Amico, Oreste Biancoli, Adolfo Franci & Gerardo Guerrieri
Based on the novel by Luigi Bartolini
Cinematography: Carlo Montuori
Editing: Eraldo Da Roma
Art Direction: Antonio Traverso
Music: Alessandro Cicognini
Cast: Lamberto Maggiorani (Antonio), Lianella Carell (Maria), Enzo Staiola (Bruno), Elena Altieri (The Lady), Vittorio Antonucci (The Thief), Gino Saltamerenda (Baiocco)