Le gamin au vélo (2011) Reviews

• Parenting: No License Necessary

  ferguson-62012-04-08

  Greetings again from the darkness. When Guy (Jeremie Renier) states that he can't take care of his son Cyril (Thomas Douret) right now, I felt a rush of anger and disgust. Imagine if you were his 11 year old son hearing those words. Young kids should be able to count on their parents for emotional security above all else. There should be no fear of abandonment ... those are issues no child should be forced to deal with (barring a natural disaster). The Belgium writer/director team of brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have a history of taking on parenthood and childhood in a head-on manner. Cyril is dumped in an orphanage by his dad, and is convinced that he is just misplaced, not abandoned. So being the fiercely determined kid he is, he re-traces his steps from coffee shops to bars to their old apartment. Cyril is convinced his dad never would have sold his treasured bicycle, no matter how desperate for money he was. Whatever confusion and hostility that you think Cyril might experience, once he confronts his dad, the filmmakers display it in the rawest possible form. Cyril is a symbol of need, hiding behind a wall of rebellion. A chance encounter with Samantha (Cecile de France) leads to weekend visitations and the start of an awkward quasi-family life for both of them. Cyril tests Samantha and all other authority figures in every possible manner, often to the breaking point. As a parent, it's easy to spot the vulnerabilities that a child faces before they have the maturity to handle it. We see how easily Cyril falls in with the wrong crowd and how quickly things can get really bad. Luckily for Cyril, Samantha doesn't abandon him. She answers "I don't know" to his question of why she let him stay with her. Although, the filmmakers never let us in on her deepest thoughts, we suspect she was once not all so different than Cyril, and someone stepped up for her. This film won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes in 2011 and it's easy to see how. It shows how difficult and messy ordinary life can be, but how often things turn out OK, though rarely perfect. Film lovers will recognize Cecile de France from her many films, including the recent Hereafter and the excellent Mesrine.

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• Love & Affection breaking the (bi)cycle of Violence & Despair

  polar242012-03-31

  A beautiful film. One that pulls you in by the honest and genuine storytelling told in the Dardenne brothers' trademark naturalistic and guileless tone that is refreshing and sorely missed in today's too often rambunctious style of movies. The story is simple and organic, the kid initially breaking out of foster care to find his father, and his bike both of which give him some identity and purpose in the world. He befriends several characters along the way (and in the Dardennes films, the characters are few, but all play vital roles) including the benevolent Samantha (whom I thought was very sweet but perhaps too pretty - and talented - to play a working- class hairdresser). Some characters are good (Samantha), some not so (Wes) and some have their own agendas to make a living. In this way, the film is not unlike (and I quote the Dardennes) a fairytale - the boy (hero) on quest in the wide world which various characters and dangers lurking, yet set in this ultra realistic (read social-realist) setting. The style of film-making here is pure and simple in that social-realist style, simply presenting characters who live on the fringe of society; who live in poor social economic conditions or don't have the opportunity of good schooling or the genuine love of a mother or father. As a result it is perhaps a little easier to understand why Cyril acts the way he does, rebelling against society, trying to find his place in the world. As you watch perhaps keep in mind what you might do to make ends meet. The kid is astounding in a first-time performance, he conveys so much frustration, anger, pathos, regret with just glances and looks, most of the screen time without dialogue. Just watch the sequences when he is cycling on his bike, utterly free, chasing (or escaping) his life as the master of his own destiny. This is a very simple & heartfelt tale, it tells the story as it is with no artifice, shot in the gorgeous dappled sunlight of a Belgian summer. It is not as hard-hitting and gritty as other of the Dardennes' films, such as emotional sledgehammers like Rosetta, Le Fils & L'Infant, but, it is still very good.

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• The Dardennes score again!

  Rockwell_Cronenberg2011-09-17

  The Dardenne brothers (L'Enfant, Lorna's Silence) once again demonstrate their mastery for crafting character studies around broken souls trying to get by in France, with their newest film, The Kid With A Bike. The film opens with young Cyril Catoul (Thomas Doret), trying to break free from an orphanage to see his father, while everyone around him is trying to explain that his father has left him there. It's a heartbreaking opening, immediately giving us a taste of the magnificent performance that Doret will continue to demonstrate over the course of the film. Cyril is desperate to escape their clutches and refuses to listen to their pleas for understanding. He's a rebellious young boy, unyielding in his cause and so sure that there must be some explanation; surely his father couldn't be that cruel. Of course the audience knows the revelation he is most likely going to receive. Soon he comes into the care of Samantha (the always great Cecile De France), a hairdresser in the town nearby who runs into him by chance, and this is where the film really starts to succeed. The relationship at the core of the film isn't with Cyril and his father (whom we do eventually meet), but instead with him and Samantha. Cyril spends his time pouting, rebelling and generally being your standard adolescent boy, while Samantha tries to become this mother never had. Cecile De France is an actress I'm always interested to watch, with her expressive face that she's put to great use in many films before this but never so well as she does here. Samantha's resilience towards Cyril's constant attempts to pull away make it clear that she must have come from a situation similar to his, and is fighting so fiercely to make sure he doesn't face the fate that she knows exists. In a town filled with troubled youths, Samantha fought her way out the other side and she wants to bring Cyril there with her. It's a very warming dynamic and the Dardennes really make you feel all of the highs and lows of it. This isn't your standard character study; you feel these characters like very few films can make you do. One of the most sensational aspects of the picture is the performance anchoring it all from Thomas Doret. Watching Doret, I couldn't help but be reminded of the young Jean-Pierre Leaud in The 400 Blows. Cyril is a rebel in the purest form, broke down by the society he's been born into and constantly fighting back against the authority figures in his life. But unlike Leaud's Antoine Doinel, Cyril isn't looking for freedom here; he's looking for acceptance. Throughout the film Cyril is pulled in a multitude of directions, but the only one he wants to get pulled into is the arms of his father; and in the twisted harshness of life, that's the one direction that just pushes him away. Doret completely embodies this character, absent of any tick or fallacy that generally comes with a child actor. It's got to be the finest child performance put on screen in quite some time. The boy isn't some adorable little kid; he's a real person and sometimes he drives you insane, but you always end up rooting for him when it comes down to it. My heart sank in the moments with his father (played well by Dardennes regular Jeremie Renier), warmed in the few bright spots in his life and when he was in danger I almost drew blood from digging my nails into my palm due to the tension. Along with the emotional journey that the Cyril/Samantha dynamic takes you on, the Dardennes also imbue the film with a dark fairy tale metaphor that I found added a great new layer to Cyril's story. Cyril spends the film wearing a variety of red tops, clearly representing our Riding Hood lost in the woods, and at a certain point he encounters our version of the Big Bad Wolf; a troubled youth who didn't have the luxury of a Samantha in his life. This Wolf is the counter to Samantha's mother figure and Cyril is a broken soul caught in a world where he could walk down the dark path of the drug dealers and thieves or into the light that Samantha tries to open up to him. It's a strikingly human story that keeps you on your toes and grasps your heart. I won't reveal the final path that Cyril ends up taking, but it kept me in tears for the final ten or fifteen minutes.

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• The Miracle Worker

  johno-212012-01-24

  I recently saw this at the 2012 Palm Springs International Film Festival. This was Belgium's official submission to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and won the Grand Prix as the Jury Prize winner at the Cannes film Festival. Cyril Catoul (Thomas Doret) is living in a state run home and school for children after his single parent father Guy Catoul (Jérémie Renier) abandoned him. Cyril's father promised him that he wouldn't sell his beloved bike and when the father never returns to take him from the state care he sets out in search of his father and his bike. A kind single woman, Samantha, (Cécile De France) takes pity on him and tracks down the bicycle that his father had sold and buys it and returns it to Cyril. Samantha soon takes Cyril in to live with her part-time. Cyril is a very troubled young boy and is longing to belong and have a family. He has a temper and is a candidate for a troubled life. From writers/directors/producers the Dardenne brothers, this is a good story with fine acting. I'm sure for the role of Cyril, the directors instructed first time actor Doret, to act like a brat and be who he isn't. It worked well. De France is great as the strong and sympathetic Samantha. The story moves along well with a good score and nice editing. It's a little implausible at times and kind of far-fetched but it's a crowd pleaser and I would give it an 8.0 and recommend it.

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• Letting Go of Anger

  Chris_Pandolfi2012-03-16

  If "The Kid with a Bike" were an English language film, chances are it would be structured so that the title character wouldn't find his father until the end, at which point there would be some kind of emotional climax and narrative resolution. But this French-speaking drama is directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and his brother, Luc, who are known for stark, naturalistic films devoid of sentiment. Through their telling of "The Kid with a Bike," the title character finds his father within the first third, at which point it's made abundantly clear that the latter wants absolutely nothing to do with the former. The kid must therefore navigate the rest of the film in search of an entirely different emotional climax – assuming that there is one to find. Even if there is, it will not present itself in a moment of sweeping melodrama. The kid's name is Cyril (Thomas Doret), a troubled eleven-year-old boy in foster care. He refuses to believe that his father would simply abandon him, despite the fact that he has never called, visited, or even lived up to his promise of returning for him after only one month. In the opening scene, Cyril repeatedly dials the number to their old apartment with frantic determination. He gets the same answer: A few beeps, and an automated voice telling him the number has been disconnected. Blind to the reality of the situation, Cyril escapes and returns to the apartment. Sure enough, every room is empty. In fact, they have been empty for an entire month. Worse still, Cyril's beloved bicycle has gone missing. He was sure his father would have given it to him. By pure chance, he runs into a hairdresser named Samantha (Cécile de France), who later returns the bike to Cyril. She tells him it was sold to her by someone who bought it from Cyril's father. Cyril dismisses the idea. The bike was obviously stolen. He goes on believing this until he sees a personal ad written by his father taped to the window of a mechanic's garage. Yes, he was looking to sell his son's bike. Despite his growing disillusionment, Cyril has found a place in the life of Samantha, who agrees to be his foster parent on weekends. The two begin a citywide search for his father, Guy (Jérémie Renier), who's eventually found at a restaurant working as a cook. Cyril is eager to pick up where they left off. Guy is anything but. He gives the usual excuses about money, time, and simply being unable. As if any reason would suffice. He tells his son, calmly but firmly, to never try and see him again. Cyril's disillusionment has now devolved into total heartbreak. After successfully fighting off a teen who tried to steal his bike, he soon finds himself in the company of a thug named Wes, known locally as The Dealer (Egon Di Mateo). He takes Cyril under his wing. We get a brief look at Wes' difficult personal life – a bedridden grandmother who needs constant care, an unseen grandfather who in all likelihood spends his time away from home at a bar – although that doesn't make the attention he gives to Cyril any less disquieting. Our suspicions are eventually confirmed, although I will not reveal why, as it involves a sequence of events too intertwined with the film's final scenes. Let it suffice to say that Wes is indeed trouble, and that Samantha was absolutely correct in urging Cyril to stay away from him. Cyril is a product of his own rotten luck, a wayward boy who has been conditioned to distrust adults or anyone in a position of authority. He does choose to be with Samantha, but only because she unreservedly returned him his bike; he remains unmindful of the love and support she's so clearly giving him, even after she chooses him over her boyfriend. Her reasons for taking him in are never given, a fact that's sure to divide audiences. I myself remain torn over it. The part of me that responds well to Americanized sentiment and concrete explanations wanted a psychological profile, a dip into the well from which her maternal instincts spring. The other part of me, the one that appreciates enigmatic characters and situations, understands that an explanation isn't necessary. The fact that she's drawn towards Cyril and is driven to help him should be enough. In its own low key, unemotional way, the film sends a rather beautiful message: You can move forward with your life if you learn to let go of anger and resentment. The trick is to hear it without the aid of a cinematic filter. There will be no large orchestral swells, no slow motion shots of Cyril running into Samantha's arms, no tearful admissions of love. There's only the sense that a chapter has ended, and one need only to turn the page. There's also the feeling that a fresh start is indeed possible, sometimes (perhaps even especially) after a traumatic event that could easily have been avoided. If anyone tells you that "The Kid with a Bike" is a father/son story, smile politely and tactfully inform him or her that they either weren't paying attention or lied about having seen it. -- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)

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