What is neorealism?

Neorealism is a theory that I had been interested in previously, I mentioned that I intended to utilise the techniques of such a style in my initial pitch for the film we would be doing in the second semester. I feel that this Italian film movement would be a suitable technique for the portrayal of the characters in our short film. Neorealism is traditionally characterised by the stories of the poor and working class in which the themes of changes in the Italian psyche and conditions of everyday life, including poverty, oppression, injustice and desperation are represented. These quintesential themes that surface in neorealism are present in the characteristics of our film, in particular oppression, injustice, and depression. The video above talks about the contrast between the Italian film director Vittorio De Sica and an american producer Selsnic if they were to make a film using the same actors, location and plot. The difference is clear, with De Sica choosing to use extended shots of the characters but revealing far less, the camera would often observe the characters in simple situations or actions such as a lengthy walk through a restaurant, these shots will also hold with cutting even after  the character had left the frame, the empty space is focused on a as extras occupy the same space they once did to give a feeling of there lack of presence that once was.

In terms of replicating this in my film I don't feel that some of the techniques of neorealism will all be useful, the techniques I intent to use would be the extended takes that follow the character and observe them in a situation which won't reveal a great amount however I feel that these long shots will provide an interesting viewpoint for the audience complimented by minimal cutting, more of a neorealist inspired style rather than a true representation of neorealism. The long takes in a typical neorealist film give the sense of observation and distance from the character, this is something I plan to explore, to do so I plan to shoot at a distance ideally through doorways, so that the audience are refused any interaction.