Sunday, March 11, 2018
Bicycles v. Uniforms: Who Has the Last Laugh?
On the surface Bicycle Thieves and The Last Laugh have the same plot. In both films the protagonist either loses his job or will likely lose a job and in a desperate bid to restore that job they need to reacquire or even steal a precious object that symbolizes their position, a bicycle or a uniform, respectively. Furthermore, if we ignore the "happy ending" imposed by the studio on The Last Laugh, both protagonists end the movie defeated and depressed with seemingly little hope for a better future. Nonetheless, despite these similarities, these are different movies. In what way are they different? What is the social or moral message of each? What are each say about the society of their times (Germany in the 20's and Italy in the 40's)? How do they differ on questions of social mobility, morality or the family? Is one more hopeful or cynical?
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While Bicycle Thief and The Last Laugh are similar in plot, the message that they give off are two separate ones. Bicycle Thief is a critique of government in Italy during the 40’s while The Last Laugh is a story that is criticizing the actual main character. In Bicycle Thief, the story is about a man who loses his bike and tries everything he can to try to regain it. Antonio first starts at the police station to report his stolen item but is only met with a lack of care for his lost item. He then goes and hunts down the man himself. Unfortunately, while he is correct in who believes is the bicycle thief, he is unable to persecute him due to the organized crime and the lack of evidence to show to the police. He then goes on the steal a bike as desperation. This film is about the short comings of society that Antonio had to face. The Jobs for the unemployed were inconsistent and few, the police force was uninterested in helping out Antonio, and the mafia had power in brute force that was barely saved by the police man. On the other hand The Last Laugh is a critique upon the man himself. In the Last Laugh the protagonist loses his job but rather than moving on he makes the job his life. The doorman then chooses to spend his time going back and attempting to recover the job he lost. This film was about how the doorman was unable to let go of his job and how he blew the whole situation out of proportions. While the doorman could have moved on from his job and started working his new job, he became fixated upon his old job.
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