FRENCH NEW WAVE

French New Wave, a film style that was developed in 1958 and grew until about 1964. It's a much more nonchalant compared to Americas Hollywood, and that was the point. French, also Italian, film makers had a negative view on Hollywoods "Mary Sue" style of film. Most characters are "ass holes" to quote French new wave film "Breathless." The main character Michel is more like a Hollywood antagonist then the main character. The shots where also very different the camera was not the main focal point, the camera just "hangs out," the actors can look into it, look around, underneath, it really didn't matter.

ITALIAN NEOREALISM

Italian neorealism, a style of film that came about after the fall of Mussolini.  Italian film makers went to the streets, they wanted to capture life as it was. Most films have simple plots that represent the culture of everyday life. Bicycle Thieves, created by auteur Vittorio De Sica, is a perfect example of Italian neorealism. Antonio Ricci is offered a job to hang posters up around town but he is required to have a bike to get the job, Ricci's family being poor sells their bed sheets in order to pay for the bike. Ricci gets the job but on his first day at work his bike is stolen. That's it, it's just a story about a man who loses his bike. Plots in modern films often are extremely complex and the movies meld together, which works for them, but this simplistic look at suffering really makes an impact especially on a modern day audience.