DEEP DIVE: Italian Neorealism: Part 2

This is a watch at home, discuss in person event — Part II of a two-part Deep Dive into Italian Neorealism.

As Italy moved further from the war, the focus of Italian Neorealism shifted from collective crisis to everyday life. The rubble remained, but the questions changed: how to work, how to live, how to hold onto dignity when stability never fully returns. This second chapter centers on Vittorio De Sica’s films: Bicycle Thieves, Miracle in Milan, and Umberto D. Together, they narrow the scale, tracing not recovery but persistence, where small losses carry real weight and survival becomes quieter, more personal.

We will meet to discuss our thoughts on Tuesday, April 28, at Edgewater Public Market. We will likely be at a picnic table outside, but please watch the comments for our exact location. Please try to watch all three before attending.

Here is the list of films with instructions on how to find them.

BICYCLE THIEVES (1948, Vittorio De Sica, Italy)
Bicycle Thieves follows a working man and his son through postwar Rome, where a single stolen bicycle threatens everything. De Sica keeps the story simple, but the stakes are absolute. Work, dignity, and identity collapse into one fragile object. As the search stretches on, hope gives way to desperation, and small compromises begin to feel inevitable. The system doesn’t intervene. The city just keeps moving.

• Watch on Criterion Channel
• Watch on HBO Max
• Watch on Prime Video
• Watch on Kanopy
• Rent from YouTube
• Rent from Prime Video

MIRACLE IN MILAN (1951, Vittorio De Sica, Italy)
Miracle in Milan begins in the same postwar poverty, but moves in a different direction. De Sica follows a community of the poor as they build a fragile world of their own on the city’s edges. Hardship remains, but it’s met with warmth, humor, and small acts of generosity. The film doesn’t escape reality so much as lift it, allowing moments of wonder to emerge without fully resolving what surrounds them.

• Watch on Criterion Channel
• Watch on HBO Max
• Rent from YouTube
• Rent from Prime

UMBERTO D. (1952, Vittorio De Sica, Italy)
Umberto D. follows an aging pensioner drifting through Rome, where each day becomes a negotiation between dignity and survival. De Sica strips the story down to routines, small setbacks, and quiet moments that carry disproportionate weight. Nothing dramatic needs to happen for the pressure to build. The world doesn’t turn against Umberto. It simply has no place for him.

• Watch on Criterion Channel
• Watch on HBO Max
• Watch on Kanopy
• Rent from Prime