It showed ordinary people and everyday life, with emphasis on the value of these ordinary people. It often bore a preoccupation with Italy's Fascist past and its aftermath. It also had a compassionate point of view and a refusal to make simple moral judgments. The blending of Christian themes and Marxist humanism ideals were also common place. However its main emphasis was on emotions rather than abstract ideas.
In the same way Italian Neo-realism's narrative element are distinct so is its visual style. Its mise-en-scene included actual locations that used solely natural lighting and often showed actual places marked by signs of destruction caused during the war. The use of special effects was seen as superfluous and avoided. It had a grainy documentary-esque visual style that often had a gloomy look; this was partly due to the poor quality black and white film stock used as opposed to the popular Technicolor process popular in Hollywood film. This harsh greyness of the celluloid connoted a sense of hardship endured by the characters. It also avoided the use of clever editing and camerawork in favor of a simpler style. This style included the use of numerous long shots and limited use of close ups and cutting. This sought to achieve a temporal and spatial wholeness. .
The beginnings of Italian Neorealism can be found with the director, Roberto Rossellini and his film, "Rome, Open City." Other progenitors of the movement include Federico Fellini, and Vittorio De Sica. Rossellini's "Rome, Open City" is about the collaboration of the Catholics and Communists fighting Nazi occupation of Rome shortly before the American army liberated the city. Rossellini wanted to convey the cruel atmosphere that existed during Nazi occupation, and many of the film's narrative elements are based on actual events during this time. Though "Rome, Open City,"" introduced the world to Italian neo-realism cinema, its most renowned and critically acclaimed film would be Sica's "Bicycle Thieves".
