The Kid With a Bike

This film, by the Dardenne brothers, is about a young boy, Cyril, who has been rejected by his father and who takes the duration of this film to accept that fact. We see him first search for his father, then make contact with him. He is initially living in an institution and is then taken in hand by a hairdresser, Samantha, who wants to care for him. She is played by Cécile de France who, like the film, is Belgian. She is the first star that the Dardenne brothers have used. I admired her in The Singer and in Un Secret and in this film she is excellent.

The film is very moving as Samantha tries to help Cyril to cope with his rejection and when she in turn has to cope with Cyril's bad behaviour, particularly when Cyril falls under the influence of a local hoodlum who wants to use Cyril as a junior partner in crime.