The Kid with a Bike: It’s My Story

     The guys went to see The Kid with a Bike and they said that about fifteen minutes into the movie, they said to each other simultaneously “this is Dexter’s story.”  It’s from Belgium and it’s in French.  I don’t speak French and I don’t read subtitles, but it sounded really good.  It’s about a little red headed boy (I guess that’s like me), who is deserted by his dad and is living in a sort of school/orphanage.  He is befriended by a hairdresser, who helps him track down his dad, but things don’t work out there.

Thomas Doret and Cécile de France

     The boy, Cyril, has to overcome a lot of ‘issues’, as the guys called them, in order to find some type of long-term stability and happiness.  I had to deal with something like that when the guys took me to the doctor and I then spent some time away before seeing them again.  That was a long time ago, though, and I’m glad I came back.  The guys said that Cyril met his challenges and returned as well.

The Uncanny Resemblance Between Dexter and Cyril

     The movie, written and directed by the Dardenne brothers, presents its simple story in a naturalistic fashion.  The Dardennes wanted it to seem like a fairy tale and it does, but with the usual gender roles reversed.  It deservedly won the Cannes Grand Prix, right behind The Tree of Life from which it differs in almost every important respect – narrative structure, style, and tone.  The Kid with a Bike is an unsentimental heart warmer.