Shoeshine

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Wayne K The Academy Award For Best International Film has been dominated by Italy since its inception, and with films like Bicycle Thieves and Shoeshine, coincidentally directed by the same person, its not difficult to see why. The surrealist movement that evolved in the mid 20th century turned the cameras on the downtrodden and the disenfranchised. They were stories about real people living through real hardships, and their raw storytelling and emotional simplicity is what allowed the audiences to connect with them. What’s so incredible about Shoeshine is that almost all of the principle cast are children and young teens, most of them non-professional actors, and yet it completely works. There’s a real sense of desperation in their eyes, and every tear they shed feels genuine. The film serves as a metaphor for post-war Italy, where a broken country struggled to ascend from the ashes, with its populace scraping and clawing for every morsel they could get their hands on. It feels like the kind of film Charles Dickens might have written, an Italian Oliver Twist but with juvenile detention facilities instead of workhouses. It shows its age in many areas, with the editing giving the impression that numerous frames are missing, and some scenes fade out while events are sill transpiring. Also the audio cuts out or is absent at the strangest time, such as in the middle of a fist fight where it not only looks like no blows are being landed, it sounds like it too. But technical niggles like that don’t matter when you have a story as meaningful and powerful as this. For me, Bicycle Thieves is at the top of the Italian neorealist mountain, but Shoeshine isn’t far behind. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/29/24 Full Review peter w In this critique of blind family loyalties, our two young protoganists could have pursued their modest dreams of owning a horse. Instead, misplaced courage and loyalty to an older brother see them in a tragic downward spiral. It also follows the Dickensian tradition of critiquing the incarceration of the poor. We see how jail narrows options and reinforces criminal behaviour. Pasqaule is tricked into informing and triggers events that lead to him killing his friend. While some see Shoeshine as a general indictment of post-war society, the target of the critique pre-dates that era and is equally applicable today. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review J. D Shoeshine ("Sciuscià"): 1946 Italian Neo-Realism film directed by Vittorio De Sica, considered his first masterpiece. Two teen friends, Giuseppe and Pasquale, work hard as shoe shiners in war-ravaged and fascist Rome, hoping to buy a horse. Giuseppe's older brother Attilio cons the boys into selling stolen goods and then poses as a police officer to arrest the "thieves". When the scheme goes awry, the two boys are sent to a juvenile detention center with many other desperate boys who have been struggling to survive in the harsh and impoverished conditions. Desperation and fear prove to be cruel task masters, testing dreams and friendships. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/24/21 Full Review renaldo d sensitive film, which makes us think of the injustices that occurred in the post-war period Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member One of De Sica's most heartbreaking works, that works as both a tumultuous coming of age story, and well as an attack on Italian reformatories. Still intense to watch now. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member A moving story about childhood, poverty and the rise of crime. A neorealist movie played very well and effectively. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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