Friday, March 9, 2012
Keep Your Eyes on the Eyes
Bicycle Thieves is not only a movie about looking for a bicycle -- it's also a movie about looking at other people. Many of the most memorable moments of Bicycle Thieves are scenes in which the main characters look at each other: Bruno looking at his father on their way to work, Bruno looking in shock as his father slaps him, Antonio looking in relief as he finds his son. In the final scene of Bicycle Thieves Antonio looked at his son Bruno before his desperate act, and most dramatically Bruno watched Antonio steal a bicycle, get caught and suffer public humiliation. What do these scenes tell us about relationships in the film? About community? About emotions? What about scenes in which a character fails to look at another (as when Bruno falls and Antonio does see it)? What is the significance of the look?
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These scenes of looking show the development of the relationship between parent and child, not only in the film, but also in real life. They represent the transition from one one-sided relationship to the complete opposite one. This is all encapsulated in how Bruno looks at his father. When Antonio starts the film, he’s portrayed as an incorruptible, noble figure. He sacrifices the sheets from his bed to get back his means of earning an honest living. He does all the right things when his bike is stolen: he goes to the police, he goes to the glorious Communist party, he keeps his cool and his hope. This is how we see him, and it’s clear that it’s how Bruno sees him, too. That’s evident from the admiration on his face when he looks at his father early in the film. He wants to be just like him. After Antonio steals the bike at film’s end, though, the relationship flips. By this point, I’m sure Antonio is yearning for Bruno’s acceptance, but it’s clear from Bruno’s teary gaze that he has lost all respect for his father. This mirrors the real-life transition by which children come to realize their parents are mere mortals and can’t always be looked to for good guidance. I think Bruno understands the normalcy of his situation; after all, he extends his hand forgivingly to Antonio right before we fade to black.
ReplyDeleteThe emphasis on looks in this film truly does capture the emotions that each character is feeling and going through in this film. How one person looks at another does set the tone for how those two people will interact with each other. In terms of relationships eye contact is key in that if one person cannot or will not look the other in the eye, then there can be feelings of tension or disconcern from the person not recieve eye contact back. Looks also have the power to influence people or even the person doing the looking into sometimes bad choices. For instance when Ricci looks at the lone bicycle and decides to steal it. Looks give off the emotions that each of us are feeling at any given time. The eyes are the portal into the realm of emotion, and they give away what each of us are feeling. As mentioned above pertaining to Bruno falling and his father not noticing this signifies how Ricci was so caught up looking at his problems that he failed to look when his son was in danger. Overall looks and the eyes let others see and feel what a person is going through, and also if one looks at their own problems only and dosent take the time to look out for others they could loose something precious.
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