The Bicycle Thieves, while on its exterior displays a man in postwar Italy continuously and hopelessly searching for his stolen bike, truly is a metaphor for society’s search for purpose and meaning after the war. Antonio’s incessant search for his bike, something in which he could not make a living without, is reminiscent of that of which families in postwar Italy may have felt, especially those who had lost loved ones, houses, or jobs in the destruction of the war. Similar to Rome, Open City, the film provides the suggestion that children are the future of Italy with Antonio’s heavy reliance on Bruno throughout the film to help find the missing bicycle. This is especially evident in the closing scene where Bruno is shown holding his father’s hand to comfort Antonio while he is crying over what seems to be absolute devastation and inability to move on after he attempted to steal a bicycle himself. This seems to suggest that children are what is going to hold society together and make sure it stays on the right track after the war and destruction of fascist Italy.

Additionally, The Bicycle Thieves depicts the struggle between morals through the cinematography. Whenever Antonio was placed in a moral question, there would be a high contrast between light and dark in the scene; Antonio being contrasted in one and the setting in the opposite depending on the outcome of the situation. This is specifically true in the two scenes in which a bicycle was stolen. At the beginning of the film when Antonio’s bike was stolen, he was contrasted in bright whites against the very dark background of the tunnel after the chase and when Antonio stole a bicycle himself, he was shown in shadows while the rest of the surrounding setting was shown in the sun projecting a light contrast. This gives the film an underlying theme of a struggle to morality and immorality. Especially after the war, and the employment destruction that is shown by the mobs of people begging to be given work, the film tells the story of Italian citizens grappling with doing what is right or doing what is easy in order to cope with and move on from the war.