Le gamin au velo (2011)

Directed by: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne | 84 minutes | drama | Actors: Cécile De France, Thomas Doret, Jérémie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione, Egon Di Mateo

“Have you calmed down?” In the opening scene, an attendant from the orphanage asks twelve-year-old Cyril, who tries to run away. He is looking for his father who, without giving his phone number or address, left him at the home and also took his precious bicycle with him. No, he hasn’t calmed down yet. He breaks free and runs on.

The dynamics, the action and the colors make this epic by the Dardenne brothers different from its predecessors. Of course, unadorned they show what goes on in this abandoned Walloon boy. Cyril, played with touching sincerity by newcomer Thomas Doret, does not know what to do with his life and tries in various ways to get in touch with his father. His desperation is captured in long camera shots that show him racing his bike at full speed, running through the hallways and climbing a tree. The film, like Cyril, is almost breathless.

Yet it does not evoke the tragic and deeply saddened emotions we have come to expect from the Dardennes. The film has a certain cheerfulness, despite a necessary portion of misery. Perhaps it is the presence of Cécile de France, she plays hairdresser Samantha who accidentally comes into contact with Cyril and finds his bicycle. The bicycle offers him something to hold on to in his life and it is therefore not surprising that he asks the finder if he can live with her. Samantha agrees, although it is never clear why she does this. The act gives her satisfaction and peace, no matter how difficult and restless the boy may be.

The blooming summer period also puts the dramas in Cyril’s life in a different light. We don’t see any drizzly dark Walloon cities, as is usually the case with the Dardennes. Instead, there are clear blue skies and green meadows symbolizing the loving shoulder Cyril has found with Samantha.

But when the dangers for a restless problem child threaten to take over, the sun quickly sets. The night scenes depict the startling ease with which children are drawn into crime. Cyril seems to love drug dealer Wes as easily as she does angel Samantha.

Every now and then the directors place small accents, with which they seem to make clear what Cyril is really about. A few chords of music by Beethoven when his father has once again turned his back on him. And the absence of red clothing, which he does wear for the rest of the film, as a sign that he understands the abyss his behavior will lead him to. His red shirt and vest were a red cloth that attracted the trouble.

With ‘Le gamin au vélo’, the Dardennes have once again delivered a brilliant film. Observing, intense and at the same time permeated with tenderness. Cyril is a character who can still captivate with few words. But it is also a film that is less gripping than award-winning predecessors such as ‘La promesse’, ‘Le fils’ and ‘L’Enfant’. And will therefore probably stick less.