Neorealism's Eternal Return

Neorealism formally lasted only a decade, but its principles resurface whenever filmmakers feel that mainstream cinema has drifted too far from reality.

The movement's most enduring lesson is that cinema does not require extraordinary subjects. Ordinary people living ordinary lives contain enough drama, beauty, and tragedy to fill any screen. A man searching for his stolen bicycle is as compelling as any epic when filmed with genuine empathy. By insisting that real suffering deserves to be seen honestly, neorealism turned filmmaking into a moral act as much as an art.