Bicycle Thief (2): The Use of Crowds
The crowds in the public area in the film, Bicycle thief, strengthen director’s main message. As the film starts with the crowd waiting to get assigned to jobs, the rest of the film continues the pattern — there are always many people standing on the street, yelling, moving, or even collaboratively stealing or fighting against a person. The crowds not only reflect the reality of Italy at that time period — unemployment, poverty, and moral chaos, but also a competitive power againsts Ricci and Bruno, as if no matter how much effort they devote, their individual power can never compete against the collaborative power. When the crowd sees Ricci is accusing the boy of stealing, no one believes him and there is no justice; When the crowd witnesses Ricci is stealing the bicycle, the justice suddenly go against Ricci. What the society values is not the single truth, but the collaborative lies. The ending echos the idea — Ricci and Bruno lose the battle with society and the only thing they left is each other.
