Maria RicciĪs Antonio’s wife, Maria is a reasonable, pragmatic presence throughout her small role in the film. Bruno clearly admires Antonio, but he is in the unfortunate position of seeing his father indulge in his worst qualities-selfishness, obliviousness, carelessness-as the prospect of finding the bicycle becomes increasingly unlikely. He seeks help from the police when his father appears to be in risky situations, he recognizes the immorality of Antonio’s theft, and before leaving for work, he remembers to close a window so that his infant sibling will stay warm. Bruno is self-sufficient, rational, and kind. Despite his young age, he works at a gas station to support his poverty-stricken family. Impoverishment has deprived Bruno of his innocence and the chance at a blissful, carefree childhood. Bruno Ricciīruno is one of Antonio and Maria’s children. For these reasons, we still root for Antonio through the very end, and our unequivocal sympathy for the complex hero renders the downbeat, self-defeating finale all the more heartbreaking. He is a vulnerable person with genuine flaws and contradictions whose quest for survival makes him compromise on his moral values. Though Antonio makes mistakes, he never becomes the villain of the story. In addition to his hostile treatment of his son, Antonio also compromises his values by threatening people, visiting the fortune teller for advice, and attempting to steal a bike himself. He continually neglects Bruno and is only shocked into parental concern once he hears about a young boy drowning. As his quest to find his bicycle becomes more fruitless, he no longer upholds the high moral standards exhibited at the beginning of the film rather, his self-pity makes him oblivious to the suffering around him. However, when his bike gets stolen, Antonio undergoes a stark change in character. At the beginning of the film, it is easy to sympathize with Antonio-he wants to provide for his family in economically suffering post-war Italy.
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