“The Bicycle Thief”

This film is on virtually every critic’s all-time best list. It’s required viewing at film schools around the world. And if that’s not enough, Martin Scorcese himself recommends it his documentary/Italian film history lesson “My Voyage to Italy.” (trailer here) “The Bicycle Thief” is Vittorio De Sica’s landmark film that captures the desperation in Italy following World War II. It’s a simple story, told well: after a long period without work Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani) finally lands a job that requires a bicycle. His wife, Maria (Lianella Carell) sells their bed sheets to get Antonio’s bicycle out of hock and on the first day of work, it’s stolen. Antonio spends the rest of the film searching around Rome for the bicycle with his son Bruno (Enzo Staiola). There are some light moments between the two of them, but the tone of the movie turns darker as Antonio realizes that the bicycle, and his hopes for a “normal” life may never be recovered. Which is the source of my Tweet: The Bicycle Thief-Lamberto Maggiorani’s last glimmer of hope vanishes when he learns an important lesson about the value of a bike lock. 10 (out of 10)

Note: For those who shy away from foreign films because of the subtitles, I can still recommend “The Bicycle Thief.” The acting is superb and the film tells its story with the actors’ faces and in their gestures. I bet you could even turn off the sound and captions and still get the story. It’s that good.

“The Bicycle Thief”

Released: 1948

Rating: NR

Length: 90 minutes

Cast: Lamberto Maggiorani, Lianella Carell, Enzo Staiola, Elena Altieri

Director: Vittorio De Sica

Genre(s): Drama, Adaptation

“Gracie”

From the opening scene in “Gracie,” when 15-year-old Gracie Bowen (Carly Schroeder) knocks a bottle off the hood of a car with a soccer ball kicked barefoot from 20 yards, it's obvious she’s got ability. Trouble is, hardly anyone notices. Gracie lives in the shadow of her high-school soccer-star brother Johnny (Jesse Lee Soffer). But Gracie doesn’t mind. He’s one of the few people to recognize and nurture her talent. So when a tragic accident takes Johnny’s life, Gracie decides to honor his memory by carrying on the family’s soccer tradition. But there is no girl’s soccer team at Gracie’s South Orange, N.J. school. And whoever she turns to for help – from her father (Dermot Mulroney) to her friends, to the coaches and the school board – Gracie only hears words of discouragement. Ultimately, it’s up to her to fight for their respect and the right to play with the boys. As in every underdog-comes-from-behind movie, Gracie gets her shot – both figuratively and literally. This inspiring story is based on the real life of Elisabeth Shue, who plays Gracie’s mom and delivers a valuable piece of advice at a pivotal point in the film. My tweet: Gracie-To earn a spot on the boy’s soccer team, a young girl has to perform gender attitude-reassignment surgery on her critics. 7 (out of 10)

“Gracie”

Released: 2007

Rating: PG-13

Length: 95 minutes

Cast: Carly Schroeder, Dermot Mulroney, Elisabeth Shue, Andrew Shue

Director: Davis Guggenheim

Genre(s): Drama, Teen, Family

“The Visitor”

“The Visitor” is a quiet, thoughtful drama about the difference between living and “living.” In it, Richard Jenkins from HBO's “Six Feet Under” gives a beautifully subtle (and Oscar-nominated) performance as Walter Vale, a college professor who's emotionally dead ever since his wife passed away. But Walter is shaken out of this numbness when he’s pretty much ordered by his boss to deliver a paper at a conference in New York City. Walter returns to the apartment he still keeps in the city, and finds an illegal immigrant couple – the victims of a subletting scam – living there. At first, he puts them out on the street, but has second thoughts and asks them to stay until their living situation is sorted out. During their stay, Walter slowly develops a friendship with Tarek (Haaz Sleiman), a Syrian drummer, and Zainab (Danai Gurira), his Senegalese girlfriend, who sells handmade jewelry at street markets. You can see Walter start to come alive when Tarek starts to give him drumming lessons. And all seems to be going well for the three of them until Tarek is arrested and threatened with deportation. Tarek’s mother, Mouna (Hiam Abbass), comes to the city and Walter offers her a place to stay. Their mutual concern for Tarek’s well-being and feelings about the injustice of it all serves as the seeds for a growing relationship between them. And even though things don’t go exactly how any of the characters in this film would have wanted, seeing Walter at the end of this film made me smile. So while “The Visitor” isn't a “feel-good” movie per se, I did feel good watching it. My Tweet: The Visitor-Uptight widowed college professor befriends an illegal immigrant couple and gets his world groove on. I give it 8 green cards. 8 (out of 10)

“The Visitor”

Released: 2007

Rating: PG-13

Length: 103 minutes

Cast: Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman, Danai Gurira, Hiam Abbass

Director: Thomas McCarthy

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy