Beijing Bicycle (2001)

Original title

十七岁的单车

Directed by

Wang Xiaoshuai

Genre

drama film

Country

People's Republic of China, France

Runtime

1h 49m

Rating

6.8 of 10 from 82 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A young country boy in Beijing works as a courier and saves up to buy a bicycle. After it is stolen, he tracks it down and finds a city schoolboy who unknowingly bought it second-hand. Their conflict over the bike forces both boys to face questions about class and dignity.

melancholictensegrittyslow-burngroundedsomberurgentrestrainedsympathetic

What happens

Beijing Bicycle (Chinese: 十七岁的单车) is a 2001 Chinese drama film by Sixth Generation Chinese director Wang Xiaoshuai, with joint investment from the Taiwanese Arc Light Films and the French Pyramide Productions. The film stars first-time actors Cui Lin and Li Bin, supported by the already established actresses Zhou Xun and Gao Yuanyuan. It premiered at the 51st Berlin International Film Festival on 17 February 2001 and won the Jury Grand Prix, but was subsequently banned in Mainland China. The ban was eventually lifted in 2004. Beijing Bicycle revolves around a seventeen-year-old boy Guei (Cui) from the countryside who came to Beijing to seek work. He finds a job with a courier company, which assigns him a brand-new bicycle. After it is stolen one day, the stubborn Guei goes on a search for his missing bicycle. At the other end of the city, Jian (Li) is a schoolboy who buys Guei's stolen bicycle from a second-hand market. When Guei's search brings the two boys together, more than the ownership of the bicycle is brought into question. The film explores the theme of youth as well as several social issues, including class, youth delinquency, theft, and rural-urban socio-economic divisions and change. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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