A2 Film Studies requires you to build on your skills of analysis. In particular you’ll need to demonstrate an awareness of social and historical context, theory and other critical reviews of your focus texts in your writing.
That doesn’t mean you’ll have to abandon the analytical skills you acquired in the first year of your course. On the contrary, in order to produce well-rounded essays with good close textual analysis your work will still have to use the micro and macro elements as a stepping stone into the broader approaches listed above.
World Cinema, Neo-Realism – The passage of analysis below is designed to give you a few ideas about how you can balance micro and macro analysis with a wider contextual discussion. The analysis is not exhaustive and works through the exposition scenes sequentially. I’ve tried to outline how the micro elements are used to construct the central themes of the film and position the audience to see the story from a certain POV.
(If you prefer I’ve included [at the end] a second copy of the analysis that itemises which specific aspects of the micro elements I’m discussing and how the writing meets the assessment objectives)
Bicycle Thieves (De Sica, 1945)
Opening Shots
Bicycle Thieves opens with a slow pan that follows a bus into a shabby suburban housing estate. A long continuous take then dissolves into a tracking shot as a group of men gather hurriedly at the foot of some steps. Right from the start the film uses its realist aesthetic to foreground two key ideas. First, it is evident from the free movement and initial distance of the camera that the style of the film will echo the formal style of documentary-reportage or verite news reporting. In other words we are being asked as an audience to consider the story as a fictionalisation of a real-word situation. Second, we are being shown a story located amongst the poor. The mise-en-scene highlights the issue of post-war deprivation whilst the strings of the non-diegetic score signify a sadness and sympathy with these people and their predicament.
As the sequence progresses we meet Antonio. We first see him framed deliberately distanced from the crowd of men. The camera here helps to characterise Antonio’s sense of isolation created possibly by his joblessness. As the scene progresses further it becomes apparent that this group of men, like Antonio, are unemployed and desperate for work. Many of them are skilled. The scene reflects yet another reality of post-war Italy i.e. that high levels of unemployment are throwing families into desperate poverty.
It is important to note that the right-wing administration of the time would have been eager to avoid this reality being publicised on movie screens both domestically and abroad. In this sense the film is subversive, it is challenging the middle class representations of Italy projected in the era’s so-called White Telephone films and the historically grand representations of Italy typical of ‘sword and sandal’ epics.
Antonio Gets a Job
The equilibrium is disrupted. Antonio has been given a job. The camera, still moving freely, follows him back to near his family’s small apartment where we meet his wife Maria. There is a subtle but crucial moment of performance here. Antonio breaks the good news to his wife but things are complicated by his need for a bicycle; without one he won’t be able to work. Preoccupied by this he momentarily allows Maria to struggle with two heavy buckets of water before turning quickly to help her. For the audience to engage with the story and crucially to empathise with its main characters we must see Antonio as a good man. In this moment the narrative shows us not only that Antonio is a good man but that he’s a good man being compromised by a bad situation. Indeed, this idea reverberates in the film’s resolution as the gravity of Antonio’s situation forces him into the theft of a bicycle.
Once inside their apartment the camera, continually at eye level, reveals the very austere and sparse furnishings of their cramped home. If the outdoor space was dominated by men (patriarchal) then the domestic space is very much dominated by women (matriarchal). In this sense the film divides interior and exterior locations in a way that represents the cultural gender values of the country at the time (and possibly still). Lianella Carell’s performance signifies that her character Maria has taken the upper hand. She offers to pawn the family’s bed sheets in order to recover Antonio’s bike. Consequently the essential goodness of Maria’s character is revealed and the noble traditions of self-sacrifice are outlined. Moreover we see once again the humanist values of the film being delineated; that is to say we see good people forced into difficult and compromising situations as a consequence of systems beyond their control.
Pawnbroker’s Shop
The next scene takes place at the pawnbroker’s shop. The clever use of mise-en-scene and framing in this sequence develop the film’s themes further and symbolise the prevailing culture of ‘them and us’. The camera positions the audience to see Maria and Antonio jostling in a crowd to peer through the pawnbrokers hatch at us. The mise-en-scene creates a frame within a frame. Maria and then Antonio appear trapped and belittled; imprisoned almost. The reverse shot is a tilt. The camera moves up slowly and deliberately to reveal hundreds of stacked bed sheets. The implication is that Maria and Antonio are not the only family in this situation, on the contrary; their characters, it would seem, are merely being used to articulate a much wider social problem afflicting Italy’s working class population. It is arguably at this point that the film’s ideological values are most clearly elucidated. We see ‘the few’ on one side of a divide exploiting ‘the many’ on the other. A sound-bed of non-diegetic music plays throughout the scene underlining the melancholy tone of the film so far.
Preparing for Work
Back at the family home and having retrieved his bike Antonio prepares for his first day at work. It’s at this point that we meet Antonio and Maria’s son Bruno (hooray). The optimism and pride have clearly returned to the family and Antonio’s performance is now more confident; he interacts playfully with his wife and takes pride in his work clothes. Mise-en-scene is crucial in underlining the key message of this scene. As Antonio works through the morning ritual of preparing for his day his actions are imitated by his son. We see Bruno copying and looking up to his father seemingly as his role-model. Even Bruno’s clothes match those of his dad. We can imagine that for an Italian audience in 1945 this scene would resonate with their shared values of family and work and, in the form of Bruno, provide a message of optimism about the future of their country and their collective chances of prosperity. For a current audience the realisation that a boy as young as Bruno is also preparing himself for work is shocking yet resonates with the desperation of the time and introduces wider issues concerning the exploitation of labour and, in this case, child labour.
In the final passage of the film’s exposition we cut to Antonio cycling to work. The scene employs a variety of stylistic devices to build on the narrative’s increasing sense of optimism. The morning half-light feels symbolic; a dawn is breaking both literally and metaphorically on a new day. The camerawork captures Antonio’s renewed sense of freedom and liberation. At one point the audience is positioned right in among the commuting cyclists. The camera – itself apparently mounted on a bike – appears to free-wheel and provides a sense of movement and mobility. A wide shot further underlines the feeling of freedom and space and follows Antonio along the banks of the Tiber. There is a palpable sense of collective identity and working class spirit that reflects the film’s socialist principles. Unlike in previous scenes the non-diegetic score is now also more upbeat in tone. The sequence concludes with Antonio waving Bruno off as the young boy starts his day at a petrol garage.
Conclusion
In the four distinct opening scenes of the film’s exposition the micro and macro elements work together not only to elicit the audience’s empathy with the central characters but also to underline its values and draw attention to the poverty and inequality of post-war Italy. Director Vittoria De Sica uses the film’s difficult production conditions to his advantage. By making a film literally ‘on the streets’ he is able to champion the underdog and tell a story about real people. As encapsulated in its opening scenes Bicycle Thieves is a different kind of Italian national cinema; one that sets the agenda of Neo-realism by moving away from the power and propaganda of Mussolini sponsored cinema to a style of storytelling that is more in touch with the struggles of everyday Italian people.
Opening Shots
Bicycle Thieves opens with a slow pan (CINEMATOGRAPHY- CAMERA MOVEMENT) that follows a bus into a shabby suburban housing estate (MISE-EN-SCENE -LOCATION). A long continuous take (EDITING – SHOT DURATION) then dissolves into a tracking shot (CINEMATOGRAPHY- CAMERA MOVEMENT)as a group of men gather hurriedly at the foot of some steps. Right the film foregrounds two key ideas. First, it is evident from the free movement and initial distance of the camera (CINEMATOGRAPHY – SHOT TYPE) that the style of the film echoes the formal style of documentary-reportage or verite news reporting (GENRE). In other words we are being asked as an audience to consider the story as a fictionalisation of a real-word situation. Second, we are being shown a story located amongst the poor (NARRATIVE). The mise-en-scene highlights the issue of post-war deprivation whilst the strings of the non-diegetic score (SOUND) signify a sadness and sympathy with these people and their predicament.
As the sequence progresses we meet Antonio. We first see him framed (CINEMATOGRAPHY – FRAMING) deliberately distanced from the crowd of men. The camera here helps to characterise Antonio’s sense of isolation created possibly by his joblessness (REPRESENTATION). As the scene progresses further it becomes apparent that this group of men, like Antonio, are unemployed and desperate for work. Many of them are skilled. The scene reflects yet another reality of post-war Italy i.e. that high levels of unemployment are throwing families into desperate poverty (CONTEXT).
It is important to note that the right-wing administration of the time would have been eager to avoid this reality being publicised on movie screens both domestically and abroad. In this sense the film is subversive, it is challenging the middle class representations of Italy projected in the era’s so-called White Telephone films and the historically grand representations of Italy typical of ‘sword and sandal’ epics (CONTEXT, GENRE).
Antonio Gets a Job
The equilibrium is disrupted (NARRATIVE). Antonio has been given a job. The camera, still moving freely (CINEMATOGRAPHY), follows him back to near his family’s small apartment where we meet his wife Maria . Thera is a subtle but crucial moment of performance here (MISE-EN-SCENE -PERFORMANCE). Antonio breaks the good news to his wife but things are complicated by his need for a bicycle; without one he’s won’t be able to work. Preoccupied by this he momentarily allows Maria to struggle with two heavy buckets of water before turning quickly to help her (REPRESENTATION). For the audience to engage with the story and crucially to empathise with its main characters we must see Antonio as a good man. In this moment the narrative shows us not only that Antonio is a good man but that he’s a good man being compromised by a bad situation. Indeed, this idea reverberates in the film’s resolution as the gravity of Antonio’s situation forces him into the theft of a bicycle (MESSAGES, VALUES AND IDEOLOGY).
Once inside their apartment the camera, continually at eye level (CINEMATOGRAPHY), reveals the very austere and sparse furnishings of their cramped home (MISE-EN-SCENE -SETTING, PROPS). If the outdoor space was dominated by men (patriarchal) then the domestic space is very much dominated by women (matriarchal). In this sense the film divides in a way that represents the cultural gender values of the country at the time (and possibly still) (MESSAGES, VALUES, IDEOLOGY) . Lianella Carell’s performance signifies that her character Maria has taken the upper hand (MISE-EN-SCENE -PERFORMANCE). She offers to pawn the family’s bed sheets in order to recover Antonio’s bike. Consequently the essential goodness of Maria’s character is revealed and the noble traditions of self-sacrifice are outlined (MVI). Moreover we see once again the humanist values of the film being delineated; that is to say we see good people forced into difficult and compromising situations as a consequence of systems beyond their control (MVI).
Pawnbroker’s Shop
The next scene takes place at the pawnbroker’s shop. The clever use of mise-en-scene and framing in this sequence develop the film’s themes further and symbolise the prevailing culture of ‘them and us’. The camera positions the audience (CINEMATOGRAPHY) to see Maria and Antonio jostling in a crowd to peer through the pawnbrokers hatch at us. The mise-en-scene creates a frame within a frame. Maria and then Antonio appear trapped and belittled; imprisoned almost (REPRESENTATION). The reverse shot is a tilt. The camera moves up slowly and deliberately to reveal hundreds of stacked bed sheets. The implication is that Maria and Antonio are not the only family in this situation, on the contrary; their characters, it would seem, are merely being used to articulate a much wider social problem afflicting Italy’s working class population (CONTEXT). It is arguably at this point that the film’s ideological values are most clearly elucidated. We see ‘the few’ on one side of a divide exploiting ‘the many’ on the other. A sound-bed of non-diegetic music plays throughout the scene underlining the melancholy tone of the film so far (SOUND).
Preparing for Work
Back at the family home and having retrieved his bike Antonio prepares for his first day at work. It’s at this point that we meet Antonio and Maria’s son Bruno (hooray). The optimism and pride have clearly returned to the family and Antonio’s performance is now more confident; he interacts playfully with his wife and takes pride in his work clothes. Mise-en-scene is crucial in underlining the key message of this scene. As Antonio works through the morning ritual of preparing for his day his actions are imitated by his son. We see Bruno copying and looking up to his father seemingly as his role-model (MISE-EN-SCENE -PERFORMANCE). Even Bruno’s clothes match those of his dad. We can imagine that for an Italian audience in 1945 this scene would resonate with their shared values of family and work and, in the form of Bruno, provide a message of optimism about the future of their country and their collective chances of prosperity (MVI). For a current audience the realisation that a boy as young as Bruno is also preparing himself for work is shocking yet resonates with the desperation of the time and introduces wider issues concerning the exploitation of labour and, in this case, child labour (MVI +CONTEXT).
In the final passage of the film’s exposition (NARRATIVE) we cut to (EDITING) Antonio cycling to work. The scene employs a variety of stylistic devices to build on the narrative’s increasing sense of optimism. The morning half-light feels symbolic; a dawn is breaking both literally and metaphorically on a new day (LIGHTING – MVI). The camerawork captures Antonio’s renewed sense of freedom and liberation. At one point the audience is position right in among the commuting cyclists. The camera – itself apparently mounted on a bike – appears to free-wheel and provides a sense of movement and mobility. A wide shot further underlines the feeling of freedom and space and follows Antonia along the banks of the Tiber (MVI). There is a palpable sense of collective identity and working class spirit that reflects the film’s socialist principles. Unlike in previous scenes the non-diegetic score is now also more upbeat in tone. The sequence concludes with Antonio waving Bruno off as the young boy starts his day at a petrol garage.
Conclusion
In the four distinct opening scenes of the film’s exposition the micro and macro elements work together not only to elicit the audience’s empathy with the central characters but also to underline its values and draw attention to the poverty and inequality of post-war Italy. Director Vittoria De Sica uses the film’s difficult production conditions to his advantage. By making a film literally ‘on the streets’ he is able to champion the underdog and tell a story about real people PRODUCTION CONTEXT). As encapsulated in its opening scenes Bicycle Thieves is a different kind of Italian national cinema; one that sets the agenda of Neo-realism by moving away from the power and propaganda of Mussolini sponsored cinema to a style of storytelling that is more in touch with the struggles of everyday Italian people (CONTEXT – NATIONAL CINEMA).
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