The restaurant scene is a great moment that incorporates many characteristics that make Ladri di Biciclette by Vittorio De Sica, also known as Bicycle Thieves, particularly distinctive. Antonio and his son, Bruno, had been looking for Antonio’s stolen bicycle. He decides to take his kid to an infrequent restaurant meal. “You want some pizza?” the father asks his son, and the little boy’s eyes brighten as if the pizza is the best delicacy on the planet (Ucalcabari, 2008). Antonio knows he cannot afford to eat out for lunch, but he nevertheless offers his son a pizza. “Why should I kill myself worrying when I will end up just as dead?” he adds as they walk towards the restaurant (Ucalcabari, 2008). Antonio is desperate, yet he resists succumbing to despair. The restaurant scene is a celebration of Italian cuisine, a touching moment of father-son connection, and a sad bit of societal criticism, all wrapped together in one iconic sequence.
Despite the sad situation, Antonio wants to cheer his son up and have a good time together. Thus, he makes an impulsive decision to treat the youngster to lunch. The father in this scene is demonstrated at his most protective, at least after the bike is taken. Antonio rushes into the restaurant but pauses in the foyer, taking in the line he has just passed with his kid. They exchange a few stares, with Bruno feeling uneasy and doubtful until his father convinces him they may sit at a table. Antonio and Bruno sit at a table that does not have a tablecloth. He suggests to his son: “Let us forget everything. We will get drunk!” (Ucalcabari, 2008). Thus, this little happy moment makes them forget about life’s difficulties.
Antonio demonstrates that they would not be held back by his social standing, and eating in this restaurant is a subtle provocation. The father and the son strain the city’s physical bounds by selecting a luxury dining place. Antonio attempts to place an order for pizza, and the waiter highlights that this is not a pizzeria. The father is taken aback by the contrast between the pizzeria and the restaurant. This difference is a slight reminder, a little nudge, that this place provides other types of food to healthy customers. Antonio orders mozzarella on bread and a whole bottle of wine instead of half, despite the waiter’s recommendation. He says to Bruno: “We will drink wine with our meal, but leave room for dessert,” making it look like they can afford it (Ucalcabari, 2008). Bruno looks happy as Antonio beats along to the music. The father exclaims as he sips the drink they want because they are men.
Misen-en-scene and editing help generate the bond between father and son by demonstrating how they eat delicious bread with mozzarella and drink together. Antonio appears to be as content as Bruno, savoring his wine between bits of sandwich. He exclaims, “There is a cure for everything… except death” (Ucalcabari, 2008). Nevertheless, the scenario is about more than just father-son bonding and the pleasures of Italian cuisine. The guests at this restaurant are picky, and the family behind Antonio and Bruno serves as a contrast. Bruno’s gaze is pulled to the overflowing plate of the relaxed, well-dressed boy at the neighboring table, which Antonio observes. The disparity in their meals is apparent, and Antonio says to Bruno: “To eat like them, you have to earn at least a million a month” (Ucalcabari, 2008). As a result, the tone shifts from joy to melancholy, with Antonio grieving the missed job chance. The floating joy of drinking and dining together lasts about a minute until Antonio realizes that his bicycle was stolen. They will have to pay for the meal and leave the restaurant the following day without employment insurance.
To conclude, a mundane dining scenario depicts a city’s economic and social inequalities ripped apart by conflict, grappling with growth aimed to leave certain people behind while others look the other way. The father starts calculating the money that may have been having his bike placed safely outside. “See why we must find it?” Antonio laments as De Sica captures his face in the sequence’s closest shot (Ucalcabari, 2008). He asks his son about the option, and Bruno advises that they should come to the square every day to hunt for his bicycle. Vittorio De Sica gradually moves the camera closer to Antonio, who answers that those people are long gone. Antonio can only do his job if he has a bicycle. The contemporary city necessitates mobility, and his hope has recently been stolen. The discouraged father and son stop for a meal in the middle of their hunt for a stolen bicycle. Antonio transports himself and Bruno to a new reality by eating something different somewhere else to feel happier. The scene at the restaurant has a deep meaning because it demonstrates the father-son bonding and the unfairness of life through contrasting wealth and poverty.
Reference
Ucalcabari. (2008). Ladri di biciclette – Vittorio De Sica [Video]. YouTube. Web.