The Kid with a Bike (2011)

Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Stars: Thomas Doret, Cécile de France, Jérémie Renier
Runtime: 87 minutes

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

Performances: 9/10
Screenplay: 8/10
Editing: 7/10
Cinematography: 8/10

Verdict: I'm starting to notice a pattern with the films written and directed by the Dardennes. They shine most when dealing with scripts revolving around character growth as they deal with very personal hardships. The French brothers have a way of making the audience care and relate to their characters, even when they haven't personally experienced what they're going through.

"The Kid with a Bike" is about a young boy trying to come to terms with the hard reality that his father abandoned him in a youth farm. As his struggles grow bigger, the town's hairdresser surprises him with his only possession, a bike, and in a random act of kindness agrees to foster him over the weekends. The focus of the film becomes the relationship between a woman trying to become a new parent figure to a child still not over the abrupt loss of his father, and who has never really known affection, resulting in him having a hard time responding to it. Watching that relationship develop is both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time because it simultaneously shows the influence of parenthood in both a positive and negative light. The performances by the two leads and their chemistry are phenomenal, and aside from a final act that in my eyes felt a little rushed, I completely bought the transformation both characters underwent throughout the film's short runtime.

"The Kid with a Bike" is a light movie that will leave a big impact on you. It's the kind of film that changes your perspective on issues faced on a daily basis by a number of individuals in the world. I absolutely loved it and certainly recommend checking it out.

FINAL GRADE: 8/10