The Kid with a Bike (2011) Le gamin au vélo (original title)

Directors:

Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Luc Dardenne

Writers:

Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Luc Dardenne

Release Date:

18 May 2011 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Abandoned by his father, a young boy is left in a state-run youth farm. In a random act of kindness, the town hairdresser agrees to foster him on weekends.

Plot Keywords:

Boy | Father | Nickname | Father Son Reunion | Foster Home

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

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 (as Baptiste Sornin)
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 (as Myriem Akheddiou)
Sandra Raco	...	L'éducatrice
Hicham Slaoui	...	Le directeur
Romain Clavareau	...	Logan
Charles Monnoyer	...	Brian
Jasser Jaafari	...	Nabil
Mireille Bailly	...	La boulangère
Mourad Maimuni	...	Le garagiste
Neda Luga	...	La cliente salon de coiffure
Laurent Caron	...	Gilles
Selma Alaoui	...	Nadine
Youssef Tiberkanine	...	Mourad
Michèle Romus	...	La grand-mère de Wes
Bilal Covino	...	L'apprenti garagiste
Valentin Jacob	...	Martin
Lara Persain	...	La médiatrice
Jérémie Segard	...	Le vendeur supérette
Sabrina Mastratisi	...	La caissière

Directed by
Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Luc Dardenne

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Luc Dardenne

Produced by
Jean-Pierre Dardenne	....	producer
Luc Dardenne	....	producer
Denis Freyd	....	producer
Stefano Massenzi	....	associate producer
Bernadette Meunier	....	associate producer
André Michotte	....	associate producer
Andrea Occhipinti	....	co-producer
Delphine Tomson	....	executive producer
Arlette Zylberberg	....	associate producer

Cinematography by
Alain Marcoen

Costume Design by
Maïra Ramedhan Levi		(as Maira Ramedhan Lévy)

Makeup Department
Nathalie Tabareau	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Thomas Alfandari	....	production manager
Philippe Groff	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kevin Dardenne	....	third assistant director
Jean-François Ravagnan	....	second assistant director
Caroline Tambour	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
Jérôme Chenevoy	....	boom operator
Benoit De Clerck	....	supervising sound editor
Jean-Pierre Duret	....	sound recordist
Thomas Gauder	....	sound re-recording mixer
Valène Leroy	....	sound editor
Héléna Réveillère	....	sound recordist
Thibaut Vandermeerch	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Renaud Anciaux	....	key grip
Antoine Bellem	....	electrician
Tanguy Delhez	....	gaffer
Jean Christophe Delinaoumis	....	additional grip
Olivier Dirksen	....	additional electrician
Amaury Duquenne	....	assistant camera
Tristan Galand	....	additional electrician
Nicolas Lemoine	....	grip
Guenael Pinson	....	additional grip
Jean Volont	....	grip

Editorial Department
Raphaëlle Dufosset	....	digital film colorist: dailies, Eclair
Tristan Meunier	....	first assistant editor

Other crew
Philippe Groff	....	location scout
Marika Piedboeuf	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Les Films du Fleuve
• Archipel 35 (co-production)
• Lucky Red (co-production)
• France 2 Cinéma (co-production)
• Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (RTBF) (co-production)
• Belgacom TV (co-production) (as Belgacom)
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) (participation)
• Eurimages (participation)
• Canal+ (participation)
• CinéCinéma (participation)
• France Télévision (participation)
• Région Wallone (support)
• Le Tax Shelter du Gouvernement Fédéral de Belgique (support)
• Taxshelter. be (support)
• Inver Invest (support)
• Casa Kafka Pictures (support)
• Dexia, Making Of (support)
• Soficinéma 7 (support)
• Programme MEDIA de la Communauté Européenne (support)
• Wild Bunch (in association with)

Distributors

• Bitters End (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Cinéart (2011) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Cinéart (2011) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Diaphana Films (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2012) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Mozinet (2011) (Hungary) (theatrical) (Hungary)
• Seven Films (2011) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Sundance Selects (2011) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Øst for Paradis (2012) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2012) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Atalanta Filmes (2011) (Portugal) (all media)
• Criterion Collection, The (2013) (USA) (DVD)
• Film1 (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• First Distributors (2011) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Kam & Ronson Enterprise Co (2012) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Teleview International (2011) (Lebanon) (all media) (Middle East)
• Twin Pics (2011) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Le gamin au vélo" - Belgium (original title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, violence, brief language and smoking

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

Belgium | France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:12 | Sweden:11 | Ireland:12A | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 | Hong Kong:IIA | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Liège, Wallonia, Belgium

Company:

Les Films du Fleuve

Trivia:

The script was structured with a fairytale in mind, where the boy would lose his illusions and Samantha would appear as a fairy-like figure.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the hairdresser is leaving the orphanage after she returned Cyrill's bike the car she iss driving makes the sound of Diesel engine, but in the next scene with the same car the car sounds like it has a petrol engine.

Movie Connections:

Features Assassin's Creed (2007) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Adagio un poco mosso

The Kid With a Bike

Cyril, a young boy of about 12, is abandoned by his deadbeat father in the care of some sort of group home. He obsessively tries to reunite with his father, and in the process, falls into the hands of a surrogate mother... and a rather shady surrogate father. The Dardennes aren't straying much from their established style, but there's no reason to. Again, we have a highly effective look at people in emotional crisis and in the grips of moral dilemmas. Throughout the film you're questioning your reactions to things (boy, that Cyril seems like an awful little monster at first) or asking "What would I do?" Again, the camera-work is immediate and unfettered by stylistic flourishes, putting you right inside the lives of these characters. Again, the performances are so natural they feel almost documentary. While I don't think Thomas Doret is as powerful a young actor as Emilie Dequenne in ROSETTA or other Dardenne leads, he does win you over after an unsympathetic start. The movie deals with several parallel themes, the most prominent being one of finding love and acceptance where you can, but it doesn't simply hammer on that one and leaves room for other avenues. I'm not sure yet if I would put this among the best of the Dardennes, but it made a strong first impression.