Neorealism

Brandon Wright

Prof. Saphire

COM 126

11/4/20

Neorealism

The neorealism film movement began in Italy around 1942, near the end of World War two. Many of the films created around this era had similarities between them, including, an antifacist message in retaliation to the pro facist films made before the war, mostly all of the films were directed on location instead of on a set, and they had easy to follow stories with ordinary people playing the characters. A perfect example of an Italian neorealism film is Bicycle Thieves because it checks off every box needed for a neorealism film at the time. It has the simple plot of a man who is looking for work so he can feed his struggling family, but once he obtains a job he finds out he needs a bicycle to get to work. After gathering the money to purchase a bicycle, it gets stolen on his first day of work. This is an extremely easy plot to follow, which helps the audience pay more attention to the lives of the family that they are spending their time watching. The viewer follows the father in search of a bicycle through many different settings such as an office, fortune teller, and even a brothel. By taking us on a journey throughout where these characters live we get a sense of the poverty stricken world that they live in without them having to tell us directly. We can understand deeper how important it is for Antonio to have this bike so he can rise out of the slums that he currently lives in.

Moonlight is an example of current day neorealism in terms of how it is the same type of story derived from Bicycle Thieves, but with a modern twist on it. This story is centered around a young African American boy growing up in poverty while struggling with his sexuality. The neorealism present in this film is how the narrative is told in a way where it is rooted in reality. Unlike films that came out prior, such as boyz in the hood, that deal with young African American men growing up in the slums, Moonlight shows the mental struggles that Chiron has to deal with growing up as a gay black man. This coincides to how Bicycle Thieves was showing the reality of Italy post war, both want to show life through the eyes of the average person without all the classic Hollywood cliches. Urban decay is the main present theme with both of these films, showing how a person's life can spiral into despair because of the circumstances the characters are placed in. With a shoestring budget of only 1.5 million dollars, Moonlight conveyed the life of Chiron beautifly without having to add anything just to move the story along further. The narrative follows an amazing pac that was easy to follow yet deep enough for the viewer to think critically. I hope neorealism becomes a more widely accepted form of filmmaking into the future so we can have more experiences like this one.