YMMV / Bicycle Thieves

• Angst Aversion: The sheer hopelessness of the film and that nothing seems to be in Antonio's and Bruno's favor can be a big turnoff for some.
• Good Bad Translation: The film is far more commonly known as The Bicycle Thief than by its true English translation of Bicycle Thieves, partly because it was titled that way when it first hit America, and partly because some people feel that using the plural form makes for a Spoiler Title.
• Harsher in Hindsight: The movie becomes even harder to watch knowing that Lamberto Maggiorani lost his factory job after production wrapped; forcing him to spend the rest of his life taking bit parts in other films to keep his family from going under.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Several decades before another film where a poster of Rita Hayworth was part of the plot, Antonio has to put up posters of her around town on the first day of his new job.
• Retroactive Recognition: Future director Sergio Leone appears as one of the seminary students encountered by Antonio.
• Heartwarming Moments: The restaurant scene. During their seemingly futile search for the bike, Antonio decides to get himself and Bruno a bite to eat to cheer themselves up. This brief moment of happiness stands out in such a soul-crushing movie.
• Tear Jerker: The film is pretty much the personification of despair and futility in cinematic form. Antonio and Bruno suffer so many unfortunate events throughout the film that it's hard not to feel sorry for when everything goes terribly wrong for them.
• Unintentional Period Piece: The story very much reflects the conditions in Italy after World War II. Unemployment and crime were rampant, the police generally weren't very competent, and, as shown in a few scenes, communism had a large following in the country. And Rita Hayworth (featured on the posters Antonio is supposed to hang) was at the peak of her international popularity.
• The Woobie: Antonio. He finally gets a job to support his family, but it's taken away from him on the first day of work because of the thief. He then spends the whole of the next day trying (and ultimately failing) to find his bicycle, where each Hope Spot that presents itself to him end up being useless or fleeting. It really isn't hard to see why he does what he does at the film's end.
  • Poor, poor Bruno. By the end of the movie, after witnessing how cruel the real world can be, he doesn't have a childhood anymore.

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