S.W.’s Scores
Continuity
+5
Entertainment
+4
Rewatchability
+2
CastLamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell
StreamingCriterion Channel, Prime Video (rent)
S.W.’s Verdict
A man's bicycle gets stolen. He needs it for work. He walks around Rome looking for it. That's the entire plot, and it's devastating. De Sica used non-actors and real streets to make poverty feel like a physical weight on the screen. The ending destroys you without raising its voice. You don't rewatch it often because it doesn't let you forget the first time.