Corps en mouvement et efforts physiques dans le cinéma néo-réaliste italien (1945-1950)

This article examines the representation of bodies in motion and physical effort in Italian neorealist cinema between 1945 and 1950, focusing on how corporeal performance becomes a central expressive and political vector. Drawing on film theory, phenomenology, and studies on sport and modern visual culture, the analysis proposes a semiology of physical performance through three case studies: Rome, Open City (Rossellini), Bicycle Thieves (De Sica), and Sunday in August (Emmer). The article argues that neorealism reactivates the body as a site of resistance, survival, and collective desire, countering both fascist monumentalism and purely optical interpretations of postwar cinema. Through long takes, rhythmic montage, and non-professional acting, neorealist films articulate a new ethics of representation in which movement, fatigue, and effort convey social conflict, historical trauma, and aspirations for redemption in postwar Italy.