Bicycle Thieves is a 1948 film from Italy. The film examines a man's life after he is unable to work his job because of the thief of his bicycle. Throughout the film right alongside the father is his son and the audience is allowed to analysis their relationship as well. In the end, when the father attempts to steal another person's bike in order to end his quest, his son witnesses his following capture and is assumed to have lost a respect for his father as he cries.
In the film the bicycle that the father searches for is a symbol of survival within the poor prospects of Rome at the time. Without the bike the father is unable to work his job and thus he is unable to feed his family. He understands that if he does not find the bike soon it means the starvation of his family, especially since there are no other jobs available in the community. When the father attempts to steal the bike of another person he is essentially trying to save his own family by sacrificing another.
The relationship between the man and his son is a very powerful dynamic that the audience witness as it slowly and sadly weakens. At the beginning of the film, the son sees his father as a great man and he tries to imitate his father. As the film continues he helps his father in his quest to find his bike and on a lesser level the son understands the importance of the bike. However, the son is also forced to witness his father put himself in undesirable situations because of the absolute need to find this bike. The son begins to lose his respect for his father after being struck by him. Then he is forced to see his father seemingly abuse and accuse a boy of thief of his bike without any proof. This all culminates in the breaking point when the son witnesses his father trying to steal another bike and being captured. The son has experienced his lost of innocence because he has been forced to witness his idol being lowered to a lower level in morality.
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