Vittorio de Sica’s neorealist masterpiece has lost none of its impact.
Watching it now it seems a shame to tag it under the somewhat restrictive neorealist banner. Because although the struggles of post-war Italy—the crushing poverty, the broken streets—form an inescapable backdrop, it’s the film’s deft handling of humanist, universal themes that strike hardest. And it’s these that elevate it to the status of a masterpiece.
