The Kid With a Bike

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  • Opened March 16, 2012 (Limited)
  • 1 hr 27 min
  • NR | Violence, Brief Language, Thematic Elements and Smoking

  • Parents: Common Sense Media says OK for kids 16+. More on child suitability

  • When his father (Jérémie Renier) abandons him, Cyril obsessively tries to find his bicycle—after all, his father must have cared about him enough not to sell that off, he reasons. Almost by accident, he becomes the ward of a kind hairdresser (Cécile de France), a woman who seems surprised to find herself so determined to help him. With his wild, unpredictable behavior and his disastrous search for father figures, Cyril risks losing her—though she refuses to give up without a fight. Full of heartbreaking betrayals and unexpected grace, THE KID WITH A BIKE is a film about a child, abandoned to the elements, learning to become good.
    *Note: Film is presented in French with English subtitles. Full synopsis

  • Cast: Cécile De France, Thomas Doret, Jérémie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione, Egon Di Mateo
  • Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
  • Genres: Art House/Foreign, Drama

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Fans say Go
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Critics say Must Go!
87 out of 100
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Fan Reviews

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Reality brought to the screen

by aletaqueen

At first glance it's an ordinary story about ordinary life events. Story boils down to ... Boy's father leaves and son doesn't understand why. What made it powerful was its ordinary-ness. It is so...

So-so
Had high hopes

by alisab63

I was looking forward to catch this movie after seeing the previews but was a bit disappointed. Very slow. I caught myself checking my phone a few times throughout out of boredom. This was the...

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something different

by hellokitty56

not predictable it makes you think not a cute little moppet tugging at your heartstrings but an angry kid in a terrible situation and you end up rooting for him all the way realistic and believable...

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Critic Reviews

100
Boston Globe
| Ty Burr

The Dardennes achieve lyricism without seeming to try. Read full review

100
Washington Post
| Ann Hornaday

Leery filmgoers can exhale: The Kid With a Bike may hew faithfully to the Dardennes' house style of spare, lucid storytelling. But without giving anything away, let's just say that with this simple, deeply affecting tale, they never set out to break your heart. Read full review

100
Entertainment Weekly
| Lisa Schwarzbaum

No one charts the wilds of childhood more precisely than the Dardennes. Read full review

100
Wall Street Journal
| Joe Morgenstern

Working on a scale that's minuscule by studio standards, the Dardenne brothers have made yet another movie that does what Hollywood used to do - keep us rapt, and leave us grateful. Read full review

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Photos

Cecile de France as Samantha and Thomas Doret as Cyril in "The Kid with a Bike."