Italian Neorealism

Ideological and thematic goals

They wanted to focus on the society as a whole, not the individual. Their emphasis was on solidarity and companionship and fraternity. These films were heavily anti-fascist and focused on the hardships of a post war Italy. They did not depict the high life or create glamorous stories. These we stories about the run of the mill Italian who was struggling to survive in increased poverty and unemployment. They tried to depict the harsh reality of life after WWII that many Italians were living. They all tried to show a criticism of the status quo and make people aware of what needs changing.

Unquestionably, their greatest single influence was the anti-Fascism that marked World War II's immediate postwar period

a focus on collectivity rather than the individual. Solidarity is important, along with an implicit criticism of the status quo

Historical context

It is post world war two and Italy is ravaged and destruction is everywhere. Allying themselves with the Nazis proved to their detriment and as such, they suffered penalties. Joblessness was everywhere. People who had jobs making weapons found themselves out of a job. The shift from agriculture to industry in order to support the war caused great scarcity in food and led to the starving of many Italians. Those who were not going hungry were poor. As for the industry, as soon as Mussolini fell, a great number of films came out, speaking out against fascism and criticizing the status quo. So in a way, world war two helped spark the neo-realist movement in Italy.

Cinematic techniques

The Italian neo-realism movement was also characterized by its cinematic techniques. The films from this era are usually made with a freehand, semi-documentary style. These films were only semi-documentary style because although they would do one continuous take, they would stage their actors, tweak the lighting, do takes over if there was a mistake. The directors would go outside on the streets and film the regular lives of the people. They would have largely unprofessional actors. These actors were not the typical Hollywood stars, but people from the street. Also, because they would try to film the lives of people, yet be as real as possible, most of the filming was done in well lit locations because the cameras of the day could not work well in low light, and they tried to stay away as much as possible from artificially lighting the scene.

Key contributors

One of the key contributors was Luchino Visconti. His La Terra Trema was a lot more documentary style than most of the other neorealist films of the time. He also directed Bellissima, a film about the struggle of a modest Roman Family. Roberto Rossellini also contributed several films such as Roma: Citta aperta, Paisa, and Germania anno zero. Victorio De Sica brought to the collection films such as Sciuscia, and Ladri de Biciclette. His masterpiece, Umberto D., is heralded as the best film that came out of this movement. But more on that later.

Key films

La Terra Trema: This film, set in Sicily, is about a family that uses its entire life savings to buy a fishing boat so that they can survive on that fishing. This movie uses very little audio and focuses on the stark and depressing reality of this family losing its only means of survival.

Ladri de Biciclette: This film focuses on the struggle of a father trying to provide for his family. His bicycle, his source of income, is stolen and in desperation he is forced to steal a bike of his own. This film tries less to focus on the documentary style of the movement, and uses a more staged approach to portray how one moral conflict leads to another as soon as its resolved. This is characterized by some as the one true communist film of the era for its emphasis on solidarity on the community rather than the individual.

Umberto D.: This film was shot entirely in the studio. There is no real plot in this movie. It simply describes the toil of late-life poverty. The main character is a pensioner and is played by a professor. The cast is almost entirely nonprofessional, especially the main character. This story diverges slightly from the neo-realist emphasis on solidarity by focus partially on Umberto’s personal struggle to maintain his independence and identity. But it also stays true to the principles by showing that he is not alone in this struggle. The film also shows many other pensioners in the same struggle. It is ultimately the most depictive out of all the Italian neo-realist films of the simply complex lives of the masses because not only does it focus on the struggles of the community, but also provides a concrete example in the form of Umberto, and in turn uses Umberto reciprocally as a smaller version of the greater struggle.