Bicycle Thieves is an Italian film about a man named Ricci who loses faith in the world after putting all his faith in himself. He pawned a Fides bike, which is an Italian word for faith and in result it got stolen from him. Ricci and his son Bruno searched the streets of Rome to find the man who stole his bike. Ricci being a cynical man has no faith in anything and dreadfully is quick to feel crushed. Around this time was a time of great economic depresseion which could have a big impact on him. As anyone would do, Ricci went to two institutions that would help the situation he is in. First he went to the church and a fortune teller, which at that time in Italy was particularly something known very well. In Italy people seeked answers from …show more content…
De Sica made Bicycle Thieves a protrayal of the unemployment and poverty of post-war Italy. After World War II Italy was absolutely devestared and occupied by foreign armies. De Sica purposely filmed in the city inseatd of stuido sets so people can see the reailty of what goes on in the city of Rome. Spirtuality is very significant to people during a time of great suffering. The church and a fortune teller were used in the film to express how spirtuality played a role in the economic depression. In the film Ricci follows the elderly man who knows the thief of the bike into the church to get answers from him. In result they got kicked out for distrupting service and was left hopeless. Not only did they loose the old man, the people at the church were inconsiderate and rude. We were exposed to the fortune teller when Ricci took his wife Maria to see her and then crticized on her faith telling her she is wasting her money. Soon after Ricci loses his bike, he goes back to the fortune teller hoping she could lead him to his bike. The fortune teller tells him “You’ll find the bike today, or not at all”, which wasn’t helpful for Ricci situation. Spirituality did not help him find his bike therefore he turned to the