Shoeshine

Vittorio De Sica’s groundbreaking 1946 film about the tribulations of two Italian street kids was one of the founding documents of the film movement known as “neorealism.” In 1946, Italian director Vittorio De Sica made a marvelous film called Shoeshine. It’s about two street urchins in Rome who make their living by shining shoes. Hanging out at the racetrack, they share a dream of owning their own horse to ride, and they scrape their money together to buy a beautiful white horse. But their hapless complicity in an older brother’s theft lands them in juvenile detention. The brutal atmosphere of…