The Kid with a Bike (2011) ( Le gamin au vélo (Il ragazzo con la bicicletta) ) ( Boy with a Bike )

The Kid with a Bike (2011) (DVD) (*)

~~$29.99~~ $23.97

Original Title: Le gamin au vélo (Il ragazzo con la bicicletta)
Alternate Title: Boy with a Bike
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Cannes Film Festival
Ceasar Awards
European Film Awards
Golden Globes
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
French ( Dolby Digital Stereo )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
83 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Trailer(s)

Movie filmed in 2011 and produced in:
Belgium ( France, Benelux )
France ( France, Benelux )
Italy ( Italy, Greece )

Directed By:
Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Luc Dardenne

Written By:
Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Luc Dardenne

Actors:
Thomas Doret ..... Cyril Catoul
Cécile De France ..... Samantha
Jérémie Renier ..... Guy Catoul
Fabrizio Rongione ..... Le libraire
Egon Di Mateo ..... Wes
Olivier Gourmet ..... Le patron du bar
Batiste Sornin ..... Educateur 1
Samuel De Rijk ..... Educateur 2
Carl Jadot ..... L'instituteur
Claudy Delfosse ..... L'homme gare de bus
Jean-Michel Balthazar ..... Le voisin Val Polet
Frédéric Dussenne ..... Le concierge
Myriem Akeddiou ..... L'assistante médicale
Sandra Raco ..... L'éducatrice
Hicham Slaoui ..... Le directeur

Synopsis:

The Dardennes create tension out of human drama and draw believable, excellent performances from their entire cast. Cyril, almost 12, has only one plan: to find the father who left him temporarily in a children's home. By chance he meets Samantha, who runs a hairdressing salon and agrees to let him stay with her at weekends. Cyril doesn't recognize the love Samantha feels for him, a love he desperately needs to calm his rage. This affecting and gripping drama is one of the finest films from the directors of 'The Child', 'Rosetta' & 'The Silence of Lorna'.

The story begins with Cyril, a 12-year-old boy in foster care, searching for his father and lost bike. Cyril escapes the foster home to try to find his father at his old apartment. When the caretakers find him, Cyril flees to a doctor's office nearby, where he grabs onto a woman in the waiting room. Trying to alleviate the situation, the caretakers take Cyril to the empty apartment, confirming that his father has really abandoned him. The next morning, the woman from the doctor's office, Samantha, shows up with Cyril's bike. She says she bought it from someone in the projects, but Cyril thinks it was stolen from his dad. He likes Samantha though, and asks if she would take him in on weekends. Later, through an old personal ad, Cyril discovers that his father actually sold his bike. With Samantha, Cyril is able to finally track down his father. However, his father isn't happy to be found and tells his son never to come back. Cyril, heartbroken by his father's rejection, turns to Samantha for comfort. But despite Samantha's care, Cyril is soon taken under the wing of a local gang leader known as "The Dealer." At The Dealer's prompting, Cyril robs a newsstand owner and his son with a baseball bat. The Dealer, fearing Cyril had been identified, threatens him to keep quiet and forces him to keep the money. Cyril tries giving it to his father only to be chased away. Dejected, Cyril returns to Samantha and finally accepts her care for him. The robbery is settled through mediation, where Cyril apologizes personally to the owner, who accepts, but his son does not and, in a chance encounter, tries to get his revenge. In the ensuing chase, Cyril climbs a tree and falls when struck by a rock the son throws. While he lies unconscious, the owner and son discuss what lies to tell the police. While they're talking, Cyril comes to and walks away, having apparently decided to move on with his life.

The fast-moving boy in 'The Kid With a Bike,' a quietly rapturous film about love and redemption from Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, races along with frightening intensity, his little legs pedaling hard, his eyes fixed on a heart-heavy destination. What the 11-year-old Cyril (the newcomer Thomas Doret, touchingly serious) wants - what every muscle in his small, tensed body strains toward - is the father who left him at a children's home, abandoning his only son to the kindness of strangers with as seemingly little regard and feeling as someone else might toss a pair of old shoes.

This product was added to our catalog on Wednesday 29 August, 2012.