An old man and his dog

Theatre director Faizal Alkazi recalls a film with soul, Sica8217;s Umberto D

Theatre director Faizal Alkazi recalls a film with soul, Sica8217;s Umberto D
The one movie that8217;s always on my mind is Vittorio De Sica8217;s 1952 film Umberto D, which I first saw sometime in the early 8217;80s with a friend. Though very simple, it8217;s beautifully made and makes you empathise with the lead character.

The movie starts with a bunch of elderly people protesting against low pensions. They are stopped by the police because they don8217;t have a permit for their protest. As the crowd disperses, the focus is on this one man who is part of the march8212;a retired civil servant, Umberto D Ferrari. He returns to his apartment, where his landlady threatens to evict him.

De Sica has shown the poverty and loneliness Ferrari goes through. His only companion in the movie is the maid who comes to clean his house and his dog, Flike. Throughout the movie, Ferrari takes care of the dog by feeding it and receives unconditional love from it. To escape the taunts of the landlady, Ferrari goes to a hospital and gets himself admitted there. When the hospital too asks him to leave and he returns to his flat, Ferrari finds that Flike has been thrown out . He eventually finds his pet but towards the end of the movie, Ferrari is homeless and the desperation drives him to stand with Flike on the railway tracks, hoping that a speeding train will free them from their misery. However, when Flike senses what his master is up to, he frees himself and goes and hides in a park. Ferrari realises that what he had done was wrong and tries to win Flike8217;s trust by performing tricks in front of him.

The movie is definitely a classic and one of the greatest movies ever made. I have seen other movies by De Sica, such as The Bicycle Thieves, and they are good too but this remains my favourite. We live in a different time now so it8217;s not possible to make a similar play or movie. However, I8217;m sure that even if someone sees the movie today, they will definitely identify with the protagonist.