The Kid with a Bike is 2011 film by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, known in Belgium as the Dardenne brothers. Cyril (Thomas Doret) is a young boy, recently abandoned by his father. Local hairdresser, Samantha (Cécile de France) takes him under her wing, although soon finds out he’s a lot to handle. Don’t be fooled by the bright, smiley poster, this film is a lot more tense than it appears. As I did not expect this at all, I was a little taken aback at first. However, not only does this deepen the meaning of the film, it also left me pondering this film for days.
Cyril’s acting is incredible, perfectly encompassing the abandonment and trauma a boy of his age and situation would feel. His frequent outbursts seem as real as the toddler next to you on the bus who will not stop screaming. Although after half an hour they start to feel forced. This is by no means the fault of the actor, who portrays with expertise, but does take away from the everyday-life feel that the film starts with. Very little actually happens until the end, which is possibly why the runtime is only 87 minutes, but if you can power through the first half an hour, you won’t regret finishing it.
If you’re looking for a <90 minute film that’s easy to digest but still makes you think, this is it. Now, you may be wondering why I have given so much praise but only rated it 3.5. Mainly because that’s what feels right in my heart, which is pretty much how I rate all films. But if you want a more technical answer, I guess I would say it’s because the patchy, disjointed feel in the first half made me need more in the second half to fully appreciate the film and, in the end, I felt I couldn’t have given it more than 3.5 because of that.
overall rating = 3.5/5
See my 2011 rankings here