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The Kid with a Bike

Original title: Le gamin au vélo
  • 2011
  • PG-13
  • 1h 27m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
28K
YOUR RATING
Cécile de France and Thomas Doret in The Kid with a Bike (2011)
Abandoned by his father, a young boy is left in a state-run youth farm. In an act of kindness, the town hairdresser agrees to foster him on weekends.
Play trailer2:19
1 Video
57 Photos
Drama

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.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.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.

  • Directors
    • Jean-Pierre Dardenne
    • Luc Dardenne
  • Writers
    • Jean-Pierre Dardenne
    • Luc Dardenne
  • Stars
    • Thomas Doret
    • Cécile de France
    • Jérémie Renier
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.4/10
    28K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Jean-Pierre Dardenne
      • Luc Dardenne
    • Writers
      • Jean-Pierre Dardenne
      • Luc Dardenne
    • Stars
      • Thomas Doret
      • Cécile de France
      • Jérémie Renier
    • 79User reviews
    • 283Critic reviews
    • 87Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 9 wins & 31 nominations

    Videos1

    U.S. Version
    Trailer 2:19
    Watch U.S. Version

    Photos57

    Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne in The Kid with a Bike (2011)
    Thomas Doret in The Kid with a Bike (2011)
    Cécile de France and Thomas Doret in The Kid with a Bike (2011)
    Jérémie Renier and Thomas Doret in The Kid with a Bike (2011)
    Cécile de France and Thomas Doret in The Kid with a Bike (2011)
    Cécile de France and Thomas Doret in The Kid with a Bike (2011)
    Thomas Doret in The Kid with a Bike (2011)
    Thomas Doret and Egon Di Mateo in The Kid with a Bike (2011)
    Thomas Doret in The Kid with a Bike (2011)
    Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Cécile de France, and Thomas Doret at an event for The Kid with a Bike (2011)
    Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, and Cécile de France at an event for The Kid with a Bike (2011)
    Cécile de France and Thomas Doret at an event for The Kid with a Bike (2011)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Thomas Doret
    Thomas Doret
    • Cyril
    Cécile de France
    Cécile de France
    • Samantha
    • (as Cécile De France)
    Jérémie Renier
    Jérémie Renier
    • Guy Catoul
    Fabrizio Rongione
    Fabrizio Rongione
    • Le libraire
    Egon Di Mateo
    • Wes
    Olivier Gourmet
    Olivier Gourmet
    • Avec la participation de
    Baptiste Sornin
    • Éducateur 1
    Samuel De Ryck
    • Éducateur 2
    • (as Samuel De Rijk)
    Carl Jadot
    • Instituteur
    Claudy Delfosse
    • Homme gare de bus
    Jean-Michel Balthazar
    Jean-Michel Balthazar
    • Voisin Val Polet
    Frédéric Dussenne
    • Concierge
    Myriem Akheddiou
    Myriem Akheddiou
    • L'assistante médicale
    Sandra Raco
    • Éducatrice
    Hicham Slaoui
    • Directeur
    Romain Clavareau
    • Logan
    Charles Monnoyer
    • Brian
    Jasser Jaafari
    • Nabil
    • Directors
      • Jean-Pierre Dardenne
      • Luc Dardenne
    • Writers
      • Jean-Pierre Dardenne
      • Luc Dardenne
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      For both the moments where Cyril is running from the police and ends up in the doctor's office and the opening scene when he's using the phone and won't let go, the young actor was just instructed by the directors not to give up what the character was doing under any circumstance.
    • Goofs
      When the hairdresser is leaving the orphanage after she returned Cyrill's bike the car she is 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.
    • Quotes

      Guy Catoul: It's too much. I can't look after him.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Cannes Film Festival 2011 (2011)
    • Soundtracks
      Adagio un poco mosso
      from Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 73

      written by Ludwig van Beethoven

      performed by Alfred Brendel and the London Philharmonic Orchestra

      conducted by Bernard Haitink

    User reviews79

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    A future classic
    "Not everyone can be an orphan." Andre Gide

    A kid with only a bike and no mother or active father---now that's a setup for sentiment. Yet the Dardenne brothers have fashioned an unsentimental, realistic drama, The Kid with a Bike, about an 11 year old boy, Cyril (Thomas Doret), who is fortunately taken in by a guardian, town hairdresser Samantha (Cecile De France), but not without serious setbacks that are understandable given his unstable background.

    The title evokes thoughts of the famous Italian neo-realist Bicycle Thief, in which a young boy is introduced to life's hard knocks through an imperfect father. In Kid, the father is a deadbeat deserter whose brief appearances are depressing because it's clear a reconnection with his son is not going to happen.

    Cyril is running through most of the film, either by bike or foot, a motif signifying his desperate desire for a parent. However blood does not have to be in the loving equation as Samantha becomes a willing surrogate.

    No surprise The Boy with the Bike won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes (2011) and the directors several times before in multiple categories. The humanity rather than the technicality dominates the emotionality; the two principal actors, Doret and De France, are incomparably natural and convincing. Make no mistake, this is a film about a boy, whose character arc the directors fully present. Whether or not he ends up for good through all the turmoil is the pleasure of watching this soon-to-be classic.

    You may think again about leaving your child with only his bicycle.
    helpful•13
    6
    • JohnDeSando
    • Apr 21, 2012

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 18, 2011 (Belgium)
    • Countries of origin
      • Belgium
      • France
      • Italy
    • Official sites
      • Diaphana (France)
      • Official site
    • Language
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Cậu Bé Với Chiếc Xe Đạp
    • Filming locations
      • Oupeye, Liège, Wallonia, Belgium
    • Production companies
      • Les Films du Fleuve
      • Archipel 35
      • Lucky Red
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,470,000
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $45,933
      • Mar 18, 2012
    • Gross worldwide
      • $7,011,798
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 27 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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