Cyril is an 11 year-old boy who’s been left a care home by his father, who can no longer cope with him. The Kid With a Bike follows Cyril’s every move as he seeks out his father and his precious bike. Samantha (Cecile De France) becomes Cyril’s foster mother somewhat by chance, helping him to track down his bike, his father and some serious life lessons.
Thomas Doret gives an incredible performance as Cyril, a volatile but innocent lad who naively believes everything his scumbag dad tells him. He’s fickle like a child, constantly searching for a father figure in all the wrong places as Samantha tries to gently guide him in the right direction.
The Dardenne brothers direct the camera so as to mimic the eyes of a child as we follow Cyril around, seeing the little details as he sees them and witnessing how they influence his thoughts and actions later in the plot. We also see the story from Samantha’s perspective as she’s left to guess Cyril’s actions and helplessly try to intervene without becoming a negative antagonist in his life.
The recurring motif of the bike is a symbol for Cyril’s tendency to move faster than most kids, quickly getting himself into trouble and learning some tough lessons from life. We watch as Samantha acts with patient compassion to replace the selfish, unreliable male figures in Cyril’s life with her quiet, honest motherhood.
One of the closing scenes sums up their relationship magnificently: Samantha steadily cycles along on a high gear ahead of Cyril who frantically pedals to keep up. They stop and Cyril asks for a shot of her bike, as if to emulate her, just as her efforts to teach him basic manners and the difference between right and wrong come into realisation in Cyril’s life.
The Kid With a Bike expresses the plight of the foster parent and the volatility of youth. At some points I was left unconvinced by Samantha’s care for Cyril, probably because we aren’t given any back story for her. But The Kid With a Bike teaches that there’s more to fostering than rational motivations, it’s about care and compassion. A little bit like this film, it isn’t exactly all sunshine and rainbows, but it’s real and it matters.
MORE ON GFF 2012:
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