Society as Represented in Indian and Italian Neorealistic Cinema: A Comparative Study of ‘Ladri di Biciclette’ (Bicycle Thieves) and ‘Pather Panchali’
Abstract
Neorealism is believed to have started in Italy immediately after World War II. Neorealist films showed everyday lives of common people, social structures and working-classes. Certain neorealist film directors cut away the artificialities in the films of that period. For them, it was important to show the social background in order to give a real picture of the society to the public. They used different approaches and techniques in the making of their movies and some of its characteristics include maximum shooting on real locations instead of artificial studios, use of non-professional actors, dialects, social themes and depiction of the life of ordinary men. Neorealist directors made films in streets, public buildings and in abandoned warehouses. Italian neorealism was a reaction to certain myths created during the fascist regime in Italy. Many films which were produced mainly after 1946 are considered belonging to this period, which lasted for a few years. Two such directors were Vittorio de Sica and Satyajit Ray.
This paper intends to analyze two films, “Ladri di Biciclette” (Bicycle Thieves, 1948) directed by De Sica and “Pather Panchali” (1955), by Ray and to study how the two directors used these films to portray struggles of ordinary citizens in the society and to give a social message. Further, this paper will be a comparative study and it will try to analyze similarities and differences in social and cultural themes in the above mentioned two films.
Keywords: italian neorealism, indian society, indian neo-realist cinema, indo- italian cinema
Introduction
Born in 1901 in Sora, Italy, Vittorio de Sica is regarded as one of the greatest film directors of neorealism. His achievements include the direction of thirty-five films and he acted in more than 150 films. His film “Bicycle Thieves” (1948) is among the masterpieces and it won an academic award of best foreign film in 1949. De Sica through this movie shows small realities of life in Italy immediately after the Second World War.
Born in 1921 in Calcutta, Satyajit Ray is known as one of the greatest Indian filmmakers. He directed thirty-six films including documentaries and feature films. His first film “Pather Panchali” (1955) earned him numerous awards and in 1992 he was honoured with the highest civilian Bharat Ratna award. It is one of the three films known as Apu Trilogy (Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajita (1956) and Apur Sansar (1959)). Ray through his movies presents a view of Bengali life and culture.
This paper intends to analyze, “Bicycle Thieves” directed by De Sica and “Pather Panchali”, by Ray and to study how the two directors used these films to portray struggles of ordinary citizens in the society and to give a social message. Further, this paper tries to analyze how the above mentioned two films present certain common socio-cultural themes prevailing in Indian and Italian society.
Keeping in view the objective of the paper, I shall try to explain briefly what neorealism is and how it influenced Indian film director Satyajit Ray. I shall then make an attempt to analyze the two films in order to examine how De Sica and Ray use their works to represent Italian and Indian society.
Neorealism
In Italy during the regime of Mussolini (1922-1943), fascists used cinema as a medium of its propaganda. There was strong censorship and for many filmmakers, it was not easy to go against the fascist ideology in their films. Ruth Ben Ghiat (2001) writes:
Cinema was to play a central role in Fascist projects of nationalization. Within the first year of his rule, Mussolini established a documentary and newsreel production centre (the Istituto Luce), sending a message about the primacy of propaganda within his state. (p. 38)
After the fall of Mussolini from power, there was a completely different cinema in Italy which was known as neorealist and sometimes referred to as an ‘antifascist cinema’ as well. Neorealism was a reaction to certain myths which fascist culture had created in Italy. As Marilyn Fabe (2014) argues about neorealist directors that;
Rather than projecting a falsely optimistic picture of Italian society, as they felt the films under Fascism tended to do, by focusing on the wealthy classes and the images of Italy that tourists see, neorealist filmmakers sought to expose the poverty and social malaise of a postwar Italy in shambles. (p. 100)
It started in Italy immediately after World War II when some directors cut away the artificialities in the films of that time. Many films produced mainly after 1946 are considered belonging to this period, which lasted for a few years. Neorealist films showed everyday’s lives of Italians, social structures and working-class in Italy. Sam Rohdie (1988) writes:
One of the most important ways of thinking about neo-realism (however dated or grouped) was not its social commitment, nor indeed its acceptance of a general philosophic- esthetic about reality, but rather its investigation and experimentation in part motivated by concerns for the social reality of post-fascist Italy, in part stimulated by new possibilities of expression consequent on the end of fascism and the end of the war and the opening out of Italy to the rest of the world. (p. 135)
Many Italian writers and directors decided to show the real picture of Italian life and culture to the world through their works. One such director was Vittorio de Sica.
The protagonist of the film “Bicycle Thieves” a young man, Antonio Ricci is unemployed and after a long period of waiting, is being offered a job of a bill poster, provided that he owns a bicycle. He does not have enough money to buy a bicycle so his wife Maria deposits their bed linen as security to get back his cycle deposited earlier. During the very first day of his work, his livelihood is threatened when someone steals his bicycle. Police are unable to assist Antonio in finding the thief. He along with his son Bruno searches in vain for his missing bicycle. In the end, Antonio looks at some bicycles parked outside a stadium and out of desperation tries to steal one unattended bicycle for him from a deserted street. He is caught by a mob and beaten, but later is released on humanitarian ground. The film ends with Antonio again remaining unemployed.
The story of the other film in question “Pather Panchali” narrates the story of a poor priest named Harihar Roy in a remote village of Bengal. His wife Sarbajaya takes care of their two children Durga and Apu. His elderly cousin Indir also lives with them. Durga often steals fruits from the neighbourhood orchard for her aunt. Harihar Roy decides to leave the village for the city to increase his earnings. In his absence, Durga dies with a fever after playing in the monsoon rain. Harihar returns home from the city with presents for his family but is shocked to know about the daughter’s death. The film ends with the family leaving the village in a bullock-cart.
Italian Neorealist Cinema as an Inspiration
“Bicycle Thieves” is based on a novel by Luigi Bartolini and “Pather Panchali” is adapted from a novel by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay. Satyajit Ray watched “Bicycle Thieves” in London which “inspired him to write the first draft of his feature film” “Pather Panchali”. (Firstpost, 25th February 2018). As Laura Ruberto and Kristi Wilson (2007) write in the introduction about the influence of neorealism;
Upon seeing Rossellini’s Rome, Open City (1945) and Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thief (1948), many aspiring and established directors from countries all over the world were immediately fascinated by a refreshing postwar aesthetic that successfully brought engaging narrative technique to bear upon social issues. (p. 3)
Italian neorealism inspired Ray to direct a movie on Indian society. Furthermore, Italian neorealist cinema and Indian cinema of that period known as Parallel cinema have many similarities historically and culturally.
Neorealist films were low-cost production cinema and the same technique was adopted by Ray for Apu Trilogy. In “Bicycle Thieves” De Sica presents suburbs and the city of Rome while in “Pather Panchali”, Ray focuses on the depiction of a remote Bengali village. After its release “Pather Panchali” was initially criticized by many in India for exposing the poverty and aspects of an Indian village abroad. Many Italian neorealist directors were often criticized by the authorities as Ghiat writes; “Neorealism brought Italian film the international audiences and profits it had lacked during Fascism, but angered government officials and conservative critics at home for its mission of social denunciation” (p. 42).
This paper will analyse how the above mentioned two films present certain common socio-cultural themes of Indian and Italian society during that period.
Depiction of Poverty
In “Pather Panchali” girl Durga and her family is of course desperately poor and live in bad financial conditions. In “Bicycle Thieves”, the protagonist belongs to a poor family. Maria, wife of the protagonist has to pawn all her bedsheets in order to get a bicycle for her husband. The pawnshop where Maria goes to deposit her goods is full of articles, from cycles to bedsheets and so on, deposited by other people. It is the lack of money that has made people pawn their household’s goods. In both the films, the protagonists are short of items of basic necessity. There is a street vendor who comes to sell sweets in the village but for Durga and Apu, it is a luxury which they cannot afford to buy. Indir is seen dressed in rags. She has to patch her torn shawl because she cannot afford to buy a new one. Sarbajaya says in the film that Durga needs proper food and their house needs repair. The family has been eating only rice every day. During her husband’s absence, Sarbajaya has to sell her utensils in exchange for some rice. There is no hair oil in the house for Apu. Unemployment threatens Harihar Roy’s family with hunger. Family members are seen barefoot in the film and some of the few goods that Indir possesses are one mat, one jug, one torn shawl and her stick.
In “Bicycle Thieves”, poverty is depicted by shots of Italian cities in bad economic conditions. Street walls have holes and are without plaster. The house of the protagonist Antonio is in a dilapidated condition. The house of the suspected thief is also in a very poor zone. The city streets are overcrowded. As John Stubbs (1975) writes that most neorealist directors used a different approach;
They knew that Italy in the war and immediately afterwards exposed the individual to situations that needed to be changed, or exposed him to situations that brought out the best and worst in him. They wanted to show the individual in such situations straightforwardly and convincingly. They did not, however, choose to make actual documentaries; instead, they chose to tell their narratives in a documentary way. (p. 50)
The character of Antonio Ricci and surroundings of Italian cities are being used to represent social, political and economic circumstances of that time.
Theft and Struggle
Extreme poverty compels our protagonist to steal things of others. In “Pather Panchali” Durga steals fruits from the house of neighbours. She wants to offer some fruits to her aunt but her family income does not allow her to do so. She also steals a bead necklace from the neighbour’s house for her future. In “Bicycle Thieves” at the end when Antonio is left without a bicycle and knows that he will lose his job so out of desperation he tries to steal a bicycle to save his job and his family. Bert Cardullo (2000) writes “the bicycle in Ladri di biciclette was an occupational necessity that became a projection of man's self-respect” (p. 190). In both the films, the motive behind the theft is salvation. Durga’s motive is to content her beloved aunt and Antonio’s motive is to save his family. Antonio is caught and beaten by an angry crowd. Durga is also beaten by her mother. It is interesting to note that in both the films the stolen objects are of very basic necessity. The story of the Italian film is about a bicycle which is everything for Antonio.
In both films, the life of our protagonists is full of struggle. In “Bicycle Thieves”, there is no running water at the home of the protagonist. Women of the society fill water from the common water tab. In “Pather Panchali” also Sarbajaya though pregnant, but she has to fetch water from a well outside her home. Durga’s family suffers because of poverty and has to live in separation from Harihar.
Failure of the State
In “Bicycle Thieves”, De Sica portrays a black market of goods in Italy and shows that police accepts the existence of this illegality. Police acknowledge its inability to help Antonio to find his bicycle. The film shows that the Italian State has failed in providing any assistance to the working classes. Antonio has to find his bicycle on his own. The State shows no mercy for poor and unemployed people. When Antonio is being offered a job, he tells the officer that he will do the job on foot and will get a bicycle in a few days but he does not listen to him. The indifference of the state towards its citizen is evident in “Bicycle Thieves”. When Antonio gets the job and comes out from his office, he is with Maria and wants to show his office to her but employees close the window from inside.
In “Pather Panchali” Ray shows that there are no proper medical facilities offered by the state in that remote village. Durga dies because of a lack of good medical services.
Socio-Economic Contrast
In “Pather Panchali” there is a sharp contrast between the poor and rich in the Bengali village. Family of Apu is very poor. Durga dies because her family could not afford a good hospital. On the contrary, their neighbours are an affluent family and their house is also in good condition. When there is marriage in their family, so much food is prepared and their daughter Tunu is dressed up like a queen. There is a grand celebration in the village with a band and music. On the other hand, Harihar tells his son to write the word ‘Wealth’ on his slate. Family is so poor that the word wealth seems imaginary to them. “Pather Panchali” focuses on the poor family of the village as one of the characteristics of neorealism.
Neorealist films tell stories that take place in the present day, not in the distant past. They also focus on the lives of the lower rather than the upper classes: on workers, not professionals; on the poor, not the rich; on the ordinary man, not the superhero. The problems and conflicts of neorealist protagonists derive less from inner psychological turmoil than from external social conditions. Most of the filmmakers associated with Italian neorealism were political leftists whose goal was to bring about social change through the creation of a new, socially engaged, national cinema, one that would replace the sanitized, retouched Italy of the films made under fascism with films that reflected the reality of contemporary life in Italy. (Fabe, M., 2014, p. 100)
In “Bicycle Thieves” When Antonio is desperate and is unable to find neither thief nor his bicycle, he goes to a restaurant with his son Bruno and finds that there are many well-dressed people enjoying their meals. Bruno looks at other families eating and for him, it is a first time experience of going to a restaurant. He is not used to eating with cutlery. They could order only wine and mozzarella cheese whereas other tables in the restaurant are full of a variety of food. Antonio tells his son that to eat like other diners he will require millions of lire in a month. The society presents a sharp socio-economic contrast. It presents a model of conflict between capital and the working class.
Unemployment
The main focus of both movies is on unemployment in the society. In World War II Italy was defeated and was occupied by the Allied forces. During that period in Italy as Mark Shiel (2006) writes, “in 1948, a year which saw unemployment in post-war Italy peak” (p. 55). “Bicycle Thieves” starts with a group of people who are unemployed and desperate to find any work. Antonio before getting this job has been unemployed for two years. There are brothels and hoarding of unemployed people in the city. There are long queues of people for buses and De Sica presents a harsh reality of Italy and hardships faced by most of its citizens. De Sica and Ray seem to be concerned about the suffering of working people. In “Pather Panchali” Harihar Roy initially has a job but most of the time is not paid a salary. In the village, there is no more possibility of work. He has to migrate to the city in search of a new job.
Optimism
In “Bicycle Thieves” Antonio believes in a good future and thinks of prosperity. He has high hopes and he believes that the future is going to be good for him. When he finds a job, he dreams of prosperity. All his dreams are broken and hopes are destroyed when he loses his bicycle. In both the films, there is unity and solidarity among the family members of the protagonists, while society seems to be indifferent to their sufferings. In “Pather Panchali” Harihar Roy is poor but he has dreams of a good future. He goes to the city to seek a better job. He returns from the city after some time and brings many gifts for his family. Like Antonio, his dreams are broken and hopes are destroyed when he discovers the loss of his daughter. Antonio is optimistic to find his lost bicycle. In “Pather Panchali” Harihar wishes to celebrate his son’s birthday one day when he will have money. The family is optimistic to find a good match for Durga. They wish to have meals twice a day. They hope to buy clothes twice a year and get their house repaired. Through dressing up of Apu like a prince in the film, Ray highlights the presence of optimism in the society.
Family Collaboration and the Role of Women
It is important to note the role of women in both the films. In “Bicycle Thieves”, when Antonio is in economic difficulty and cannot buy a bicycle for himself, his wife decides to pawn her linen and says to him that they can sleep without a bedsheet. Whenever the protagonist is in difficulty, other family members try to help each other. The father-son relationship is very strong in Italian film. In “Pather Panchali”, the director focuses on Sarbajaya. She is the head of the family. She takes care of her home, her family and Indir. In most of the movie, the appearance of the mother is more frequent than the father. Women in both films are in the leading role and help their husbands in the running of the house. In “Bicycle Thieves”, Bruno accompanies his father Antonio in searching for the thief. He saves Antonio by calling the police when his father is in trouble and is threatened by the mob. Frustrated Antonio slaps his son but later realizes his mistake and takes his son to a restaurant. In the same way, there is so much affection and love in Harihar’s family. Durga loves Indir very much and takes care of her. Sarbajaya takes care of her family in the absence of her husband. Although the mother beats her daughter because of the blame of theft by the neighbours, however, she is the one who is the most affected by her death. There is a very good brother and sister bonding and Durga takes care of her brother as a mother and always takes him to play with her.
Conclusion
It is important to note the ending of both movies. “Pather Panchali” ends after the death of the daughter when the family of Apu decides to leave the village and viewers don’t know what is going to happen next to the family. In “Bicycle Thieves” Antonio and Bruno are walking off slowly. A truck brushes shoulder of Antonio and they disappear into the crowd. It also has an open ending and leaves the viewer with a question about the future of the protagonist. These two directors seem to send a message in society to the citizens of the country to come forward and take care of their nation and their co-citizens. The purpose of the directors of these movies is to invite the people of the nation to renovate the country, and to reconstruct a country where there will not be suffering for the people any more.
References
Rohit Bajaj, Assistant Professor, Centre for European and Latin American Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi-110025 rbajaj@jmi.ac.in