Bicycle Thieves (dir. Vittorio De Sica, 1948)

There's a feeling of desperation that lingers throughout the story as Antonio tries to search for the thief that stole his bike. As he becomes less rational with his decision making his son Bruno becomes a moral compass, giving the audience a space to reflect on how his actions affect someone who's supposed to loo up to him. In a way it makes Antonio feel like a very pathetic character, but because of his economic status we sympathize with him much more. Every scene takes part in adding to this theme of how poverty influences our character, such as Antonio disturbing a church service to talk to the man who talked to the thief or him choosing to steal a bike at the very end. 

I was wondering throughout how the story would end, and having the main character do the same thing which caused him so much anguish really made a statement. Nobody else seems to care or give much attention to Antonio's troubles regarding the thief, but when he tries to turn it back around he gets caught and ends up being humiliated in front of the public and more importantly, his son. The last shot is really effective in selling this too as Antonio and Bruno walk among the rest of the crowd, getting lost in it as they shamefully head back him with tears in their eyes. It feels so desolate, as if their troubles are one out of thousands of people. However the honesty and integrity you have is always at stake, it's up to you to break the cycle of carelessness and do better for yourself.