One of the great works of the Italian Neorealist movement, Umberto D. is an utterly singular masterpiece by Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves) and one of the most heartbreaking and human stories ever put to film. In the midst of Italy’s postwar economic recovery, retired civil servant and pensioner Umberto Domenico Ferrari (Carlo Battisti) spends his days trying to get by with his little dog Flike and maintain his dignity in a city losing itself to modernisation. When his greedy landlady (Lina Gennari) threatens to evict him from his rundown apartment, Umberto finds he can only count on the support of Maria (Maria-Pia Casilio), a young maid.

A tale about an old man and his dog tale and the struggles of poverty that resists sentiment for raw and honest realism, Umberto D. is cast of mostly non-actors, void of narrative contrivance and devoted to Vittorio De Sica’s own father Umberto De Sica. Favourited by its director, this film is also counts Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman and Roger Ebert among its admirers – the latter hailed it aptly as "the best of the Italian neorealist films – the one that is most simply itself, and does not reach for its effects or strain to make its message clear".