Neorealism In Early Italian Film

It becomes quite apparent neorealism is evident throughout films within different cultures post World War II. It seems directors felt the need to express the social economic inequalities through film to create a sense of how most of the population of a Country was suffering. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and the Bicycle Thief yet created in different cultures find themselves relating to one another through neorealism. Within both films, the characters feel as if they’re trapped within the social status they’ve come to know so well and lose the need to try and escape. Smith uses running as a way to feel free from the economic troubles he faces, which represents in some sense how at times all you can do is run from your problems. The director was trying to capture reality and help the audience feel connected since people too use certain hobbies or activities to escape the troubles they face daily. Such as in the Bicycle Thief when they decide to have food and wine yet it only cures there troubles for a few minutes before once again becoming upset from knowing how poor they’ve become and will be without the bike. The style of these two films really deviates from classic hollywood cinema during this time, they work to represent reality rather then fantasy, neorealism films tend not to use popular professional actors to get as close to real life as they can. 

It’s obviously noted that The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner decided to use parts of World War II in the beginning to create a sense of time, while the Bicycle Thief uses the dramatic economic destruction of post World War II without having to show it to emphasize how poor economies had become. Also it somewhat seemed The Long Distance Runner was possibly filmed at times on a set or studio which didn’t contrast itself as much from the Hollywood Cinema as it should’ve, while the Bicycle Thief was being filmed on location to gain the realism they wanted. Lastly it should be noted Smith would’ve been well known as a thief in society even if it was just at attempts to escape emotional and physical restraints in his situation. While in the Bicycle Thief he never was a thief, though difficult times forced him to stoop down and live with shame as a thief.