When we think of a kid and his bike, it is often a playful image. A child learning to ride for the first time. A group of kids with fixed smiles cruising the neighborhood. The bike exists to enable activity, to create joy. But the Dardenne Brothers (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne) and their latest film, The Kid with a Bike (Le Gamin au vélo), have a more primal use in mind. Put the bike in the hands of a desperate child anxious to capitalize on its original purpose – mobility.
The “kid” is Cyril, a passionate and driven 12-year-old boy abandoned by his father and left for foster care. The “bike” is no more than a means to an end –finding the father.
Set in a small town in Belgium, the film opens with Cyril escaping from foster care sans bike, yet completely fixated on the mission of finding it. While the underlying assumption is that his dad has left it in their former apartment for him, it does not take long to realize this is the first of many disappointing realities that Cyril will face. But it is also midst this persistent drive (and escape) that Cyril literally runs into his eventual refuge, a middle-aged woman named Samantha. Being chased by his foster counselors, Cyril makes a dash for the door and collides with the complete stranger – pulling her (Samantha) from her chair and clinging with a desperate hold. What first appears to be a fleeting encounter, turns out to be one of the most poetic moments in the film, subsequently setting the stage for an unlikely relationship.
Samantha, while acknowledging the intensity of his grip, breaks the chaotic moment by simply communicating, “You can hold me.” In an interview with “Film Comment”, the Dardenne brothers refer to this moment as a “reverse Pietà” – causing her (the symbolic Virgin Mary) to fall into his arms, unable to avoid the distress he carries.
And here lies the real genius of this film. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have just as much interest in the audience bearing Cyril’s angst and pain as they do Samantha. And you do. You feel it. You question humanity. You debate providence. And you long for the experience of something wholly other.
Samantha, obviously impacted by the collision, eventually finds Cyril and delivers his bike, which she graciously purchased back from a street kid as a gesture of faith and friendship. It is here that Cyril’s pursuit of his father shifts from foot to wheels, which eventually leads to the location of his father. Already assuming the mother figure, Samantha agrees to accompany Cyril on the visit. And as you might suspect from the consistent disappointment, it’s painful to watch.
As Cyril and Samantha leave the unimpressive encounter with the father, Cyril hits a breaking point. It is here that we see the Pietà image again, but this time Samantha is holding him and we begin to experience the patience, love, and capacity she has for a kid that she knew nothing about just days before. Cyril’s pursuit has now shifted from finding his father to finding acceptance.
While I’m not sure we should consider it as Christian allegory, the film certainly has its roots in theological matters. The persistent movement – present in both pursuit and retreat. The cruelty of man head to head with the goodness of (wo)man. And the personal sacrifice of time, commitment, and relation. An (arguable theological) pattern emerges.
Pursuit. Wander. Rescue.
This narrative repetition plays as a cadence alongside selective symphonic swells that act like the close to each chapter and serve as a “calming caress” of sorts for Cyril. Subsequently, it does so for the viewer as well; and we eventually recognize that humanity has been here before. Beneath the surface, it’s our story too. These are the same questions we’ve asked. Who am I? Where do I belong? Am I worth it after all?
I’ve seen over 50 films in 2012 thus far and The Kid with a Bike sits at the top of them all. It’s production is as simple as its title, which brilliantly creates the space the audience needs to process the complexity of what it means to be human. As much as this is a story of perpetual abandonment, it is a story of persistent grace and acceptance. But its not these familiar themes themselves that make The Kid with a Bike worthy of its Cannes’ Grand Prix award; it is that the Dardenne brothers have crafted an experience of them. You’ll feel the pain. You’ll long for acceptance. And you’ll rest in the grace.
Bob Davidson, who received a Masters of Theology from Fuller, is the Creative Producer at Rule29 and co-founder of rednow, an exploration of wonder through film, music, art, and theology.