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Kid with a Bike, The
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| Year: |
2011
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Director: |
Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
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| Stars: |
Thomas Doret, Cécile De France, Jérémie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione, Egon Di Mateo, Olivier Gourmet, Batiste Sornin, Samuel De Rijk, Carl Jadot, Claudy Delfosse, Jean-Michel Balthazar, Frédéric Dussenne, Myrieme Akeddiou, Sandra Raco, Hicham Slaoui
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| Genre: |
Drama |
| Rating: |
  7 (from 1 vote) |
| Review: |
Cyril (Thomas Doret) is seeking someone: his father, who has abandoned him to the Belgian care system because he could not look after him anymore, not that the boy can grasp this. So much so that he has insisted on telephoning his old home in the hope that his father will answer, but the carer at the establishment Cyril now lives in tries to explain that the he's not getting a reply because the number has been disconnected. Feeling desperate, the kid makes a run for it, escaping but quickly caught: all he wants to do is visit his father's apartment and get his bicycle...
This tale of juvenile delinquency and the motives behind it was offered up by those masters of Belgian realism The Dardenne Brothers, though this time around they claimed to be crafting a fairy tale of sorts, complete with fairy godmother. She was played by one of the nation's biggest stars, Cécile De France as Samantha, a character who we don't especially understand quite how she ticks, but appreciate she wants to do the right thing by Cyril which means saving him from the downward spiral towards crime and violence that he appears inexorably drawn to, and all because he does not have a strong parent figure in his life.
His mother has left the picture years ago, but he knows his father can help him and will not consider the possibility that he is an utter deadbeat who sold Cyril's beloved bike, the sole physical proof his dad might love him, for extra cash. Samantha buys it back for the boy, just the beginning of her Good Samaritan role, though this simply encourages him to take to the streets and hunt down his dad; other filmmakers might have left the reunion to the end where we would discover the man was delighted to see him again and all was forgiven. Not here, where he embarrassedly tolerates his son, then asks Samantha who has accompanied him to tell Cyril he doesn't want him in his life anymore.
She's not having that, and twists the arm of the father (played by another of Belgium's most famous performers, Jérémie Renier) to admit his feelings and stop stringing the poor kid along. It's extremely uncomfortable to watch, not least because newcomer Doret wears his emotions on his sleeve and to see him crushed like this is no picnic, particularly when he starts self-harming in the car ride back. But Samantha has tolerance, and whether out of the goodness of her heart or some other reason, she perseveres - it's nice to think it's her sheer altruism which has spurred her on to save Cyril not only from the sort of person who will do him mental damage, but from his own turmoil of emotions as well.
However, she can only do so much, and there's often someone in these fraught with worry situations who will try to take advantage. So it is when Cyril stays with his new guardian but falls under the wing of Wes (Egon Di Mateo), a local petty criminal seeking to move up in the criminal world, and like a young Fagin recruits our protagonist into committing crime. Here we can see those who must deal with problem children must have the patience of Job if they're not going to lose their temper and make matters worse, and Samantha fails that test just once, but it's enough to put her charge in a difficult position. Some found the last ten minutes went too far in the plot, but there was evidence the Dardennes wanted every part of the storyline to come to a conclusion, with each thread tied up, so yes it's a bit difficult to believe that Cyril would be so hardy considering what happens, but it's not totally outwith the realms of possibility, and could be seen as his final punishment which he accepts and moves on with the forgiveness Samantha taught him.
Aka: Le gamin au vélo
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| Reviewer: |
Graeme Clark
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