Umberto D. (1952)
Country: IT
Technical: bw 89m
Director: Vittorio de Sica
Cast: Carlo Battista, Maria Pia Casilio
Synopsis:
An old man troubled by debts and hounded by his landlady is sustained by the companionship of his dog.
Review:
As in Bicycle Thieves an individual on a desperate quest finishes up his circumstances unchanged, but is saved from disaster by a bond of affection. Zavattini and De Sica sought to make viewers reflect on how all society could be so, if only... Instead the glimpses of solidarity are few and far between, and the most notable is easily broken up by police in the striking opening scene, which pins the film's political colours to the mast straight away, as does the work touting scene in Bicycle Thieves. All these concerns are, however, far from the viewer's mind while the film is running, so immersed are we in the plight of the protagonist and his relationship with the other characters. De Sica finds beauty in the simplest of everyday actions, as in the scene where Maria rises early and mopes about the kitchen; the poetic effect never veers towards didacticism and the use of Flike the dog is sentimental without ever being mawkish.
Country: IT
Technical: bw 89m
Director: Vittorio de Sica
Cast: Carlo Battista, Maria Pia Casilio
Synopsis:
An old man troubled by debts and hounded by his landlady is sustained by the companionship of his dog.
Review:
As in Bicycle Thieves an individual on a desperate quest finishes up his circumstances unchanged, but is saved from disaster by a bond of affection. Zavattini and De Sica sought to make viewers reflect on how all society could be so, if only... Instead the glimpses of solidarity are few and far between, and the most notable is easily broken up by police in the striking opening scene, which pins the film's political colours to the mast straight away, as does the work touting scene in Bicycle Thieves. All these concerns are, however, far from the viewer's mind while the film is running, so immersed are we in the plight of the protagonist and his relationship with the other characters. De Sica finds beauty in the simplest of everyday actions, as in the scene where Maria rises early and mopes about the kitchen; the poetic effect never veers towards didacticism and the use of Flike the dog is sentimental without ever being mawkish.
Country: IT
Technical: bw 89m
Director: Vittorio de Sica
Cast: Carlo Battista, Maria Pia Casilio
Synopsis:
An old man troubled by debts and hounded by his landlady is sustained by the companionship of his dog.
Review:
As in Bicycle Thieves an individual on a desperate quest finishes up his circumstances unchanged, but is saved from disaster by a bond of affection. Zavattini and De Sica sought to make viewers reflect on how all society could be so, if only... Instead the glimpses of solidarity are few and far between, and the most notable is easily broken up by police in the striking opening scene, which pins the film's political colours to the mast straight away, as does the work touting scene in Bicycle Thieves. All these concerns are, however, far from the viewer's mind while the film is running, so immersed are we in the plight of the protagonist and his relationship with the other characters. De Sica finds beauty in the simplest of everyday actions, as in the scene where Maria rises early and mopes about the kitchen; the poetic effect never veers towards didacticism and the use of Flike the dog is sentimental without ever being mawkish.