Umberto D.

Police disperse an organized street demonstration of elderly men demanding a raise in their meager pensions. Umberto D. Ferrari is among the marchers, illustrating his precarious financial situation. The scene establishes the social pressures facing retirees in postwar Italy.

The landlady returns to Umberto's room and finds it rented for an hour to a young couple who want to have sex. She threatens to evict him at the end of the month if he cannot pay the overdue rent, fifteen thousand lire. This moment underscores the fragility of his housing situation.

To raise money, Umberto sells a watch and some books, but the sum raised is only about a third of what he owes. The landlady refuses to accept partial payment, leaving him still in arrears. The weight of unpaid rent compounds his desperation.

The sympathetic maid confides in Umberto about her own problems: she is three months pregnant and unsure which of her two soldier lovers is the father. Her candor adds a personal layer to the hardships depicted in the film. Her confession foreshadows the precariousness of many characters' lives.

Feeling ill, Umberto checks into a hospital and is diagnosed with tonsillitis. He is discharged after a few days and returns to an unsettled home life. The illness temporarily relieves him from his immediate worries but intensifies his sense of fragility.

Back at the apartment, Umberto discovers workmen renovating the place and learns the landlady is getting married. His room has a gaping hole in the wall, and the maid explains the hole will become part of an enlarged living room. The changes strip away the room that had been his refuge.

The maid had been taking care of his dog Flike, but a door is left open and Flike runs away. Umberto is left to cope with the loss as the household changes around him. The dog’s disappearance compounds his loneliness and practical worries.

Umberto goes to the city pound and is relieved to find Flike there. The reunion rekindles his resolve to care for the dog despite his mounting problems. It also highlights the harsh realities of keeping a pet without stable housing.

Unable to secure a loan from a friend who has a job, Umberto refuses to beg from strangers and contemplates suicide. He clings to the idea of caring for Flike even as his own life spirals. The moment marks a turning point from despair toward a stubborn will to survive.

Umberto packs his belongings and leaves the apartment, offering the maid one last piece of advice: to get rid of the Florence boyfriend. His departure marks the end of his tenure in that place. He faces an uncertain future without a stable roof over his head.

First he tries to place Flike with a couple who board dogs, then with a little girl he knows, but the nanny makes the girl give the dog back. The attempts fail one after another, underscoring his inability to secure help. Flike remains a hopeful, fragile link to his former life.

Flike goes to play with some children, and Umberto slips away, hoping that one of the children will adopt him. The moment shifts the focus from survival to finding a possible home for his companion. The park setting becomes a stage for their tentative bond.

Umberto carries Flike toward a railway track as a speeding train approaches. Flike becomes frightened, wriggles free, and flees into the surrounding area. The moment tests their bond as a real-life peril looms.

The chase slowly morphs into play as Umberto lures Flike with a pine cone. The dog responds with curiosity, easing the tension of the earlier peril. Their interaction hints at a renewed bond between man and dog.

The movie ends with Umberto and Flike running and playing down the park lane. The moment offers a fragile sense of hope after poverty, loneliness, and loss. It leaves the audience with a humane, hopeful note about companionship.