Realism in European and World Cinema: Beijing Bicycle and Bicycle Thieves

To define realism in its purest form one immediately turns to the dictionary; “the attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is and being prepared to deal with it accordingly”. (1) Realism as a concept can be seen throughout the arts, in painting, literature and theatre. To put it succinctly, it is the representation of how things actually are. This discussion on realism will focus on perhaps the most important film movement to come out of Italy, the neo-realist movement; a collection of films from the early forties to mid-fifties, which focused on the economic and social aspects of a recovering Italy at the end of the Fascist regime. After exploring the movement in detail, underlining the key concept behind it, it will become apparent through one particular example how it has had direct influence on modern world cinema. 

Defining ‘Neorealism’

‘Neo’ in this instance comes from the Latin term meaning ‘new’. The movements name epitomises it as a birth of a concept or at least a development past the original ideas of realism in film. Realism was already a known concept in film at the time. The term neorealism grew from a company of writers that read and wrote within the magazine Cinema. Unhappy about the current state of affairs they decided to voice social disorders they witnessed in their lives, through film. The films often used amateur actors to keep the events as ‘real’ as possible. The movement can be defined now as a grouping of films that share similar characteristics. David Overby lists these in Springtime in Italy: A Reader on Neo-Realism as “appearance, manner and area of subject”. The director Roberto Rosselini was once quoted as saying that Neo-Realism is “a Label” most of the time, and remains undefined. He adds that for him it will primarily be “a moral position from which to look out at the world”(2). Rosselini was focused on the idea of dialectical cinema, “We found ourselves, after the war, face-to-face with this commitment. What counted for us was the enquiry into truth, the correspondence to the real.” It is in quotes such as these that we see a tangible link to the dictionary definition of realism, particularly “…Being prepared to deal with it (reality) accordingly”.

Within this collection of filmmakers it is clear that a true definition would never be agreed upon. Many of the filmmakers involved wrote extensively on the subject but failed to provide a concrete stance on the subject. The writer and director Cesare Zavattini being the only exception; according to Overby, he was the only person to directly claim to belong to the movement. However Zavattini and Rosselini’s view on moral positioning was the same. In a 1953 manifesto on Neorealism entitled Some Ideas on Cinema (3) Zavattini states, “neorealism, if it wants to be worthwhile, must sustain the moral impulse that characterised its beginnings, in an analytical documentary way”. Likening Neo-realism as an “army ready to start” he lists Rosselini as one of the ‘soldiers’ behind the movement. It seems Zavattini bases his idea of realism as the expression of daily life, to discover the adventure in the activities of real people; that on the surface may seem mundane. Zavattini uses an illustration to define his concept. “A woman is going to buy a pair of shoes. Upon this elementary situation it is possible to build a film”. He explains the logic of this through a series of questions that explore the situation in more detail, “What is her son doing at the same moment? …How did the woman happen to have 7,000 lire? How hard did she work for them, what do they represent for her?” Zavattini’s choice of illustration shows the fascination in Neo-realism with poverty. In fact Neorealism was so focused on this theme that according to Zavattini it came under attack because of this. He argued that “Neorealism can and must face poverty” mentioning it as “one of the most vital realities of our time”. In his mind, to not mention poverty would be morally reprehensible.

 Zavattini chastised the American film tradition claiming cinemas “hunger for reality” was finally being satisfied through the new movement. He added, “it is what distinguishes ‘Neorealism’ from the American cinema”. American realism in his mind was “unnaturally filtered”. Applauding the Neo-realist’s position, he explains that there was no fear of ever finding a “lack of subjects for films”, a predicament that plagues American filmmakers. However the idea of representing daily life ‘as it is’ would prove too constraining for even the most loyal neo-realist soldiers. Rosselini’s The Machine that Kills Bad People (1952); a story about a rural photographer who is given a demonic camera with the power to banish the greedy, shows perhaps why he chose to personally leave Neorealism undefined, and concentrated on messages of morality. Zavattini’s script for Miracle in Milan (1951) uses angels, magical doves and flying broomsticks to aid the story of a group of squatters being removed by capitalist landowners. Mark Shiel, in the book Italian Neorealism: Rebuilding the Cinematic City, recognises the contradiction saying, “Its Neo-realism was complicated by prominent elements of fantasy”. Much dispute arose about whether films such as these could really be classed as neorealist. Zavattini recognised the problems caused in this case, he urged audiences to focus on the theme of poverty found at the heart of the film, remarking, “If the rich turn up their noses especially at Miracolo a Milano, we can only ask them to be a little patient”. He goes on to mention that the film should be classed as a fable. However this contradicts Zavattini’s general attitude on film outlined in statements such as “The true function of the cinema is not to tell fables, and to a true function we must recall it”. What can be clear is that Neorealism would ultimately stand for moral positioning and the theme of poverty over anything else.

Bicycle Thieves (1948) 

Despite the general problems in definition it is important to focus on films that can easily be recognised as neorealist. In the next section, development of the concept will be shown with one of Zavattini’s classic films; Bicycle thieves (1948). Based on a book, the film was adapted to screen by Zavattini and directed by Vittorio Di Sica. One aspect that is found in the film is explained by Mark Shiel “They resisted logically and emotionally satisfying narrative closure”. The moral position of the filmmakers is reflected in this didactical tactic. With this in mind, the film will be compared to a Chinese film that was released in the last decade; Wang Xiaoshuai’s Beijing Bicycle (2001).

Bicycle Thieves and Beijing Bicycle.

Beijing Bicycle (2001)

It may on the surface seem odd to refer to Beijing Bicycle in relation to European cinema. However the film was not released in china first-hand due to bureaucratic complications. The film was entered into the 51^st Berlin International Film Festival in 2001, and according to a 2004 article in China Today, despite winning the Silver Bear and Best New Talent prize at the festival, the director “had not obtained approval from the Film Administration Bureau of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television before showing”. European audiences received the film well. It would be another four years before a domestic audience would even see the film. The narrative comparisons between Bicycle Thieves and this film are also too great to ignore. Due to historical events Post-Mao Chinese society has been described as ‘identical’ to the post-Fascist Italian society that neo-realism first was born from. Harry H. Koushu recognises that this “encouraged a homage of post-Mao filmmaking in China to Italian neorealism.”(3)

Poor neglected Bruno!

‘Bicycle thieves’ focuses on Ricci, a recently employed father who hopelessly searches for his bicycle; the only means of travel which is integral to his job. It shows the desperation found in Italy’s economic climate and poses questions on morality. The climax of the film shows Ricci, tired and frustrated, having not found his bike or justice contemplates stealing another bike to replace his own. As soon as he makes an attempt he is surrounded by a mob and forced to relinquish the bike; chastised in front of his doting son. The son, Bruno, provides a typical example of Zavattini’s need to find adventure in the simpler aspects of life, he uses this example to clarify his position; “The child follows his father along the street; at one moment, the child is nearly run over, but the father does not even notice”. He goes on to mention that the incident had “the intention of communicating an everyday fact about these people's lives”. Caught up in the search Ricci tends to neglect his son, repeatedly. Under the shadow of the films main theme, Zavattini manages to outline another issue that is affected by the economic desperation. The struggle to raise a family can be great, but in the process of survival, children can be neglected. Reflecting on the film Mark Shiel states that “The narrative was thin, tightly focused” recognising that it contained only one line of action, the search for the bicycle. However simple the film was, its unsatisfying conclusion underlines Zavattini’s didactic intention, reflecting on the audiences reaction to the events filmed he says, “It is not the concern of an artist to propound solutions. It is enough, and quite a lot, I should say, to make an audience feel the need, the urgency, for them”. Zavattini’s true intention, his reason for making these films becomes clear; he wanted to make his audience feel frustrated and want to change how things ‘are’ at present.



Beijing Bicycle uses the same basic narrative. It also uses unknown actors to keep it feeling as realistic as possible. It follows the trials of a Chinese working class teenager. Arriving in Beijing from a village, Guei lands a job as a bicycle courier. It is quickly established how integral the bike is in Guei’s employment. In similarity to its Italian counterpart ‘Beijing Bicycle’ uses this prop to represent “the impact of economic modernization” according to Richard Letteri in the essay Realism, Hybridity, and the Construction of Identity in Wang Xiaoshuai’s Beijing Bicycle. As Ricci represents the suffering working class, Guei represents the “floating population of rural workers… who fled the countryside to seek employment in the country’s ‘economic zones’ and urban centres”. His bike inevitably gets stolen, but in contrast to its Italian counterpart the film provides two story arcs, the thief’s story as well as the victim’s. Wang Xiaoshuai uses the film to explore other themes as well as simply poverty and the moral implications of crime. The victim character of Guei is terrorised by his thief counterpart, Jian. Jian, it is assumed was born in Beijing. His characteristics differ from Guei’s tremendously because of this. While Guei is throughout the film described as ‘Stubborn’ and determined to earn to survive in the city. Jian is still attending school and has developed a different ethic. Richard Letteri describes the character as “materialistic, selfish, and enamoured with youth culture”. Wang manages to show a clear social divide between the two characters.

The two boys, when not fighting over ownership of the bike pursue women as well. The inclusion of ‘love’ in this in this film is not to simply to provide the audience with reasons to relate to the main characters in a tradition mainstream sense. Both Jian and Guei voyeuristically observe the objects of their affection. In Guei’s case, he often looks at a woman who lives in the apartment complex opposite his shack. He assumes that the woman is out of his league as the apartments are for the wealthier Beijingese. He finds out later that the woman was a maid and a fellow village immigrant. Unfortunately for him he only finds this out when she had left for good. He never gets the courage to approach her, despite at one point riding his bike precariously, accidentally hitting her unconscious and carrying her to his humble bed to recover. Jian on the other hand talks to his potential mate; but his childish behaviour and his constant distraction of materialistic pleasures means she quickly looses interest, much to his dismay. He decides to hit his girlfriend’s new suitor over the head with a brick. Given China’s social issues regarding ‘love’ this plot inclusion seems imperative to describe life ‘as it is’. According to the NBC report China grapples with legacy of its ‘missing girls’, the sex ratio has changed “From a relatively normal ratio of 108.5 boys to 100 girls in the early 80s” to “116 in 2000”. Since then the gap has continued to increase. The article blames “China's draconian one-child policy imposed since 1980”. Jain’s murderous desperation near the climax of the film does not seem farfetched when China has to deal with a serious sex-ratio imbalance. 

The youths of China will undoubtedly be competitive when it comes to finding a mate. Richard Letteri comments on love’s inclusion in the plot “Wang is … presenting these romantic plotlines so as to render them false. In the process, he returns the spectator to the realization that the real triad of desire remains among Guei, Jian, and the bicycle”. The director’s use of the bicycle, in parallel to ‘Bicycle thieves’ remains as the core intent of the film. The film ends with Jian finally managing to triumphantly take his bike home, no longer having to share with the greedy Jian. Unfortunately the bike is mangled and unusable. Wang provides an unsatisfactory end that manages to capture the frustration felt by the audiences of Bicycle Thieves. Both films manage to map out the social problems of their time and culture, showing that by doing so it is unnecessary for the director to provide solutions. It is up to the audience to take action, for themselves.

 As this comparative example shows, neorealism as a movement is not simply related to Italian directors in the mid 40’s to mid 50’s. The movement’s core principles, Zavattini’s ideals, can be seen in other works, from the other side of the world. Wang Xiaoshuai belonged to the sixth generation of filmmakers; and used film to comment on the state of the country, somewhat in defiance of the state. Realism ‘Movements’ reflect the situation the filmmakers find themselves in presently. Thus when the country finds some stability, the need to show reality ‘as it is’ diminishes or is at least focused on the current cultural, social and economic difficulties. It develops with this aspect as the energy behind it.

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(1) Oxford Dictionary, definition of ‘Realism’ [online] Available at: <http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/realism > [Accessed 27 March 2012 ].

(2) Quoted in ‘Springtime in Italy: A Reader on Neo-Realism’, D. Overby, 1978 p.9

(3) ‘Some Ideas on Cinema’ found in ‘In Film: A Montage of Theories’ MacCann, R.

(4) Quoted in ‘Realism, Hybridity, and the Construction of Identity in Wang Xiaoshuai’s Beijing Bicycle’, R. Letteri, 2007

Bibliography

'Underground' Movie Directors Emerge, China Today, April 26, 2004 [online] Available at: <http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/94044.htm > [Accessed 27 March 2012 ].

Baculinao, E., China grapples with legacy of its ‘missing girls’, NBC News, updated 9/14/2004 [online] Available at: <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5953508/ns/world_news/t/china-grapples-legacy-its-missing-girls/#.T3Lt3o5R7do> [Accessed 22 March 2012 ].

Letteri, R., ‘Realism, Hybridity, and the Construction of Identity in Wang Xiaoshuai’s Beijing Bicycle’, Southeast Review of Asian Studies Volume 29 (2007), pp. 72–89 [online] Available at: <www.uky.edu/Centers/Asia/SECAAS/Seras/.../05_Letteri_2007.pdf> [Accessed 22 March 2012 ].

MacCann, R., In Film: A Montage of Theories, p. 216-228 New York: E. P. Button, 1966

Overby, D., Springtime in Italy: A Reader on Neo-Realism, Talisman Books, 1978

Shiel, M., Italian Neorealism- Rebuilding the Cinematic City, Columbia University Press, 2006

MacCann, R., In Film: A Montage of Theories, p. 216-228 New York: E. P. Button, 1966