Shoeshine – Criterion

Director: Vittorio De Sica
Screenplay: Cesare Zavattini, Sergio Amidei, Adolfo Franci, Cesare Giulio Viola
Starring: Franco Interlenghi, Rinaldo Smordoni, Annielo Mele, Bruno Ortenzi
Country: Italy
Running Time: 92 min
Year: 1946
BBFC Certificate: PG

Vittorio De Sica’s Shoeshine (a.k.a. Sciuscià) is a cornerstone of Italian neorealism – raw, humane, and devastating. Released just after the Second World War, it performed poorly in its home country. The public obviously wasn’t ready to watch such a downbeat film at that time. However, it was more successful abroad, even winning an honorary Oscar (the first for Italy). Following Rome, Open City’s similar overseas success, Shoeshine helped put Italian cinema on the worldwide map and further spread the influence of the neorealist movement.

A year before its 80th anniversary, Shoeshine is being released on UHD and Blu-ray by The Criterion Collection. I got hold of a copy, and my thoughts follow.

The film tells the story of two young boys, Pasquale (Franco Interlenghi) and Giuseppe (Rinaldo Smordoni), who shine shoes on the streets of Rome. Close friends, they dream of a better life and save up to buy a horse together. But when they become unintentionally involved in a petty scam, their dream begins to unravel. Arrested and sent to a young offender institution (or juvenile detention centre), the boys are pulled into a system that slowly strips them of their trust, their innocence, and eventually, their bond.

What makes Shoeshine so powerful is its sincere commitment to portraying everyday reality, whilst blending this with classical cinematic techniques. Though De Sica strove for realism, shooting on location, avoiding theatrical performances and populating the film with largely non-professional actors, he did not abandon cinematic craft. The result is a film that blends authenticity with polish. It has the rough texture of life as it was lived in post-war Rome, but also the structure and sentimentality of melodrama.

De Sica, once a matinee idol in lighter fare, had grown disillusioned with escapist cinema and longed to tell stories with more substance. Inspired by King Vidor’s The Crowd, he set out to make films that reflected real social issues and emotional truths. Shoeshine was his first notable attempt at this.

Though striving for realism, De Sica wasn’t averse to ‘bending the truth’ to make a more digestible film. For instance, whilst he originally got the idea for the film when observing two actual ‘shoeshine’ boys who were obsessed with a horse, he didn’t want to cast them in his film, as they weren’t photogenic enough. So, he went through a lengthy casting process (still going for non-professionals, to be fair).

The child actors De Sica eventually chose, both amateurs, deliver strikingly naturalistic performances, particularly for the time. Their lack of formal training seems only to enhance the emotional weight of their scenes, though it’s worth noting that De Sica’s methods for achieving these performances were reportedly sometimes harsh. He was believed to have provoked emotional responses by humiliating or upsetting the children to get the reactions he wanted. If this is the case, it’s ethically questionable, but it got results.

Visually, Shoeshine is subtly beautiful. Whilst authentic exteriors were used and interiors were closely based on actual locations, De Sica still uses graceful crane and dolly shots. The Roman streets are full of life, teeming with the bustle of street traders, Allied soldiers, and overlooked children. The detention centre interiors were reconstructed on a soundstage but retain a stark realism, mirroring the coldness of the institution itself. Linked to this is a persistent theme of public indifference to suffering. Adults rush the boys through the ‘system’, paying little attention to their stories about why they ended up there. Plus, few seem to notice or care as they slip through the cracks.

As mentioned, there’s an air of melodrama to Shoeshine. The escalating tension between the boys, the breakdown of their friendship, and the final act’s heart-wrenching turn are heightened. Yet the emotions never feel forced or unearned. Instead, they serve to strengthen the film’s message, that the methods of institutions and social systems fail the most vulnerable, reducing children to statistics or criminals rather than recognising their humanity.

I didn’t find Shoeshine gripped me with quite as much power as De Sica’s later masterpiece, Bicycle Thieves. But, for its time, the earlier film was a bold, innovative work. It laid the groundwork for what neorealism could be – emotionally powerful, politically aware, and deeply cinematic. It’s a portrait of a post-war generation left to fend for itself, and of two boys who, despite their resilience and deep bond, are ultimately no match for the cold machinery of the adult world.

Overall, Shoeshine masterfully blends cinematic craftsmanship with gritty realism to tell a moving tale of the hopelessness of poverty and the indifference of the system that should be tackling the problem.

Film:

Shoeshine is out on 18th August on 4K UHD & Blu-Ray in the UK, released by The Criterion Collection. I watched the Blu-ray disc and the film looks fantastic for its age. It’s a detailed image with rich tones. The audio has been carefully remastered too.

Disc/Package:

Where to watch Shoeshine