Bicycle Thieves (2013): Cast & Plot

In the shadow of post-World War II Rome, a desperate struggle to keep a family fed sets the stage for a quiet, unsentimental drama. Antonio Ricci, a devoted husband and father, is swallowed by the grind of finding steady work so he can support his wife Maria, their young son Bruno, and the baby who changes every daily choice. When a job posting promises honest pay for advertising bills, Antonio’s pride wobbles at the idea of lacking something as simple as a bicycle, a tool he needs to move with the city and its shifting errands. Maria, in a practical surge of love and stubborn resilience, strips the bed of its dowry sheets—tiny, priceless talismans of a poorer life—and walks them to the pawn shop.