I found a movie review of one of my movie choices, The Bicycle Thief, that includes an excellent summary of the movie style Neorealism. I find this video review to be very credible as it is from a professional movie reviewer A. O. Scott from the New York Times.  This video review is dated March 24, 2009 and I found it on youtube.

Neorealism is a style of movie that emphasizes real life. Generally Neorealism movies are edited in a chronological order as events progress as you would expect. For example, the timeline of the movie would progress from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Another aspect of Neorealism is the use of nonprofessional actors. Don’t expect to find established stars appearing in Neorealism movies. Neorealism movies are often simple stories about the harshness of real life. Other attributes of this style include following how society works – the poor often feel the harshness of life the most.  Neorealism movies are most often shot in and around a real city as opposed to the back lot of a Hollywood movie studio.

The movie The Bicycle Thief is an excellent example of the Neorealism style of moving making. According to movie critic A. O. Scott, the Bicycle Thief is one of the greatest Neorealism movies of all time.