man push cart

i suppose its no coincidence that the bicycle thief was the last thing i saw; from the struggles of the underclass to Father & Son to the rolling means of work this joint pays serious homage. unfortunately i didnt buy any of it. fantastic metaphor only works if you know its fantastic. otherwise all sense of realism is shot. as a first film youd like to compare it to killer of sheep, but killer of sheep had moments of joy. (the bicycle thief had moments of joy.) this shit here was mirthless. i read the movie was shot in 3 weeks, often with a hidden camera. an amazing feat; it pops like a motherfucker. the sort of thing that would make me miss new york, joy or no fucking joy.

[3 netflix stars]