✱ Bicycle Thieves × Paths of Glory (opens in new tab)

Back-to-back postwar bangers: De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (1948) and Kubrick’s Paths of Glory (1957). It was my first time watching Bicycle Thieves, and it was marvelous. A neorealist urban crawler, comprised of (allegedly) mostly non-actors (directed by an actor), this film found its footing almost immediately to the backdrop of an enchanting, enigmatic Rome. For a mere 89 minutes, we’re along for a succinct, fast-moving ride following a struggling, stubborn family man who fitfully reckons wit...