Monday, October 23, 2017
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 not see it)? What is the significance of the look?
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In Bicycle Thieves, Bruno’s unnoticed yet constant observation of his father reflects the meaning of integrity—doing the right thing even when “no one is looking”. When Antonio’s bike is stolen, Bruno becomes confused and even a little startled by his father’s anxiety. He constantly follows his father and is always looking at Antonio, perhaps for answers to this bundle of anxiety, fear, and chaos. It shows that children look for answers in their parent’s actions. Moreover, when Bruno is slapped in the face by his father, Antonio sees the fear and confusion in his son’s eyes. Antonio immediately feels guilty and tries to compensate with a nice meal. This form of literal eye-to-eye communication heavily influences the emotions of both the father and the son. Before Antonio steals the bike, he sends his son home. This act is deliberate as Antonio cannot bear seeing his son, who will be seeing him commit an immoral act. In other words, Antonio cannot bear the senses of emotional guilt aroused by this eye-to-eye communication. However, Antonio fails to be a man of integrity, for he fails to do the right thing when he thinks that no one, or at least his beloved son, is looking. The movie tells us the opposite of what Antonio thinks: there will always be someone looking, not only do the strangers catch him, his own son sees his father’s painfully pathetic actions. The ending of the film elevates to a new level for the meaning of “look”: we do not see everything, yet everything sees us.
ReplyDeleteIn Bicycle Thieves, the observance amongst characters represents the importance of impression in relationships. Bruno’s constant observance yet simplified impression of his father demonstrates the lengths his father will go to maintain the impression that he is both honest and financially secure. After first losing his bike Antonia lies to his son about the bike’s condition, saying it broke down rather than was stolen. This lie maintains the impression that his father is financially secure to Bruno. Antonio maintains this impression because he cares about his relationship with Bruno, if he were not financially secure Bruno would worry and the nature of their relationship would change. However, as the film progresses we see Antonio become less able to maintain this impression. The ‘look’ of Bruno comes closer to reality each time he observes his father. Bruno eventually learns about the thief of his father’s bike and then the implications for his father’s job. Ultimately Antonio is unable to maintain this impression, and Bruno sees his father publicly humiliated by his desperation. This indeed changes the nature of their relationship, however, it is not for the worst as Antonio feared, but rather it allows Bruno to better empathize with Antonio. Bruno is no longer obscured from the truth about Antonio. Their relationship only becomes stronger, as they are now fully in the same predicament. In the end Bicycle Thieves suggest that our relationships aren’t built on romantics images of each other, but rather our ability to empathize with each other.
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