First things first: The original Italian title to this film is Ladri di Biciclette, which can only be translated as “Bicycle Thieves.” However, a stupid orthodoxy prevails in the United States, where, on its first release, the picture was called The Bicycle Thief. That contradicts the very thing that anyone moved by the story takes away from it: that in the world it shows, there are thousands of bicycle thieves because of the terrible economy.
Purists have criticized the English title of the film as a poor translation of the Italian ladri, which is plural. What blindness! The Bicycle Thief is one of those wonderful titles whose power does not sink in until the film is over.
if i never saw the thing id agree with graham; the singular is infinitely better. having seen the movie i still agree with graham. mostly because no matter how topical, the economic angle didnt hit me nearly as hard as Father & Son. (without considering context im pretty sure i will remember the hundreds of bikes sunnily parked and then quietly gathered as fondly as the restaurant scene.) the shit aint about desperate men, it is about one desperate dad.
[4 netflix stars]
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.