An exceedingly simple fable allows director Vittorio De Sica to dive into the depression of post-war Italy and construct a tragic portrait of a man who will do anything to provide for his family. Even neglect the young son he is fighting to feed.
Reading reviews after watching The Bicycle Thief I found that most critics identified the father's acquisition and eventual search for the bike (and subsequent transformation into a bicycle thief himself) as the central point of the movie, but I was far more affected by his son's blind determination to follow his father wherever he went without question, despite being mobbed, falling over and almost being run over three times while his father had his attention on more "important" matters.
So during what is ostensibly a "sad" ending where the father and son walk, empty-handed and teary-eyed, into the distance, I saw it as a chance for redemption from Antonio. He succumbed to a moment of weakness and became the titular bicycle thief, but emerged unscathed and was still able to return home to his wife and family, bicycle-less but strong of character.
