Umberto D – Thursday 16th October 2025

This 1951 Italian Neo Realist film by Vittorio De Sica is very highly rated. I Saw De Sica’s other Neo Realist classic, ‘The Bicycle Thief’ at Uni, and really liked it, so was expecting big things from this movie…

It wasn’t for me.

I just didn’t empathize with the protagonist, or any other characters in the film. Yes, it’s sad that the old people can’t survive on their pensions, but ‘Umberto’ as well as the other pensioners depicted, seem to lack any virtue. They’re ‘wheeler dealer’ type con men that lie their way into survival. Inevitably, that’s the only way they can survive, but it doesn’t mean that as an audience, I want to spend any time in their company.

Other characters in the film also lack virtue, such as the pregnant girl who has two lovers; she also has to think about her survival through poverty, but again, as an audience member, I don’t really care for the dilemmas faced by people who cheat on their partners.

Despite all the doom and gloom, the film has a hopeful ending; the main message being, ‘get a dog’! Because when you’re old and/or lonely, your dog will be your only steadfast companion.

It was nice to see 1950s Italy depicted on film, but that’s about it.