Have you ever seen The Bicycle Thief? It is a 1948 film by Vittorio De Sica, who was a neorealist film maker in post-war Italy.
I have only seen a couple of Vittorio's films, but they are realistic to a point that isn't familiar state-side. In the Bicycle Thief, a family man is trying to find any work to put food on the table. He finds a job putting up posters, but has to have a bicycle for the job. The family pawns their sheets to get his bicycle out of hock, and it is then stolen the first day on the job. The search for the bicycle is the framework for showing us how people treat each other.
In Umberto D, an elderly pensioner is trying to find enough money to pay his rent. His landlady wants to evict him as her social status is increasing and he no longer belongs or is needed in her home. He has two friends, a little dog (Flike) and the landlady's maid. He sells what he can to pay the rent while waiting for his next pension check, but eventually decides to take his own life. But first he has to find a home for Flike.
These were hard films for me to watch, but they are wonderful, and beautifully shot and acted. I believe Umberto D uses all non-professional actors. Both films are worth watching just to see the post-war life in Italy, the state of the buildings, how people get by, etc. But the personal relationships and the struggle to live? These movies are amazing.
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