Sciuscià / Shoeshine (1946) :
Brief Review -
As they say, Vittorio De Sica's First Italian Masterpiece. I believe, it's better than his known Classics 'Bicycle Thieves' and 'Umberto D', beat that! Sica's filmography is like a Bible for neorealist cinema. I am yet to see his earlier films, i mean the films he made before Shoeshine and i am quite excited about it already. I have seen his much acclaimed films like 'Bicycle Thieves' (1948) and 'Umberto D' (1952) and both are in my list of top favorite classics from Italian Cinema. Now, when i have seen Shoeshine, i guess i can make a statement about these three films, if not his other films. Shoeshine is better than both those films and if you are a quality cinema lover then you must have realised by now that how BIG this compliment is. I won't need to explain further. I don't care if the IMDb rating of those two films is higher because i know it happens. Many films with higher number of votes gets popular and then the rating goes higher. That keeps some of these kind of films behind as less number of votes don't make you popular even if you have better content. Two shoeshine boys in postwar Rome, Italy save up to buy a horse, but their involvement as dupes in a burglary lands them in juvenile prison; the experience take a devastating toll on their friendship. Shoeshine maybe a children driven film but believe me it is more matured and aged than many adult oriented classic crime dramas. That realism, that organic presentation of human life and its struggle without the help of melodrama and cinematic Liberty is simply amazing. The performances are as natural as they could get. All the boys have done such a good job and how effortlessly it all comes on screen. Vittorio De Sica is a master storyteller and this film is yet another high quality presentation from him. Shoeshine will make you realise what other so called Children Oriented Classics have missed so don't miss it.
RATING - 8.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.
As they say, Vittorio De Sica's First Italian Masterpiece. I believe, it's better than his known Classics 'Bicycle Thieves' and 'Umberto D', beat that! Sica's filmography is like a Bible for neorealist cinema. I am yet to see his earlier films, i mean the films he made before Shoeshine and i am quite excited about it already. I have seen his much acclaimed films like 'Bicycle Thieves' (1948) and 'Umberto D' (1952) and both are in my list of top favorite classics from Italian Cinema. Now, when i have seen Shoeshine, i guess i can make a statement about these three films, if not his other films. Shoeshine is better than both those films and if you are a quality cinema lover then you must have realised by now that how BIG this compliment is. I won't need to explain further. I don't care if the IMDb rating of those two films is higher because i know it happens. Many films with higher number of votes gets popular and then the rating goes higher. That keeps some of these kind of films behind as less number of votes don't make you popular even if you have better content. Two shoeshine boys in postwar Rome, Italy save up to buy a horse, but their involvement as dupes in a burglary lands them in juvenile prison; the experience take a devastating toll on their friendship. Shoeshine maybe a children driven film but believe me it is more matured and aged than many adult oriented classic crime dramas. That realism, that organic presentation of human life and its struggle without the help of melodrama and cinematic Liberty is simply amazing. The performances are as natural as they could get. All the boys have done such a good job and how effortlessly it all comes on screen. Vittorio De Sica is a master storyteller and this film is yet another high quality presentation from him. Shoeshine will make you realise what other so called Children Oriented Classics have missed so don't miss it.
RATING - 8.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.