The Kid With a Bike

The Kid With a Bike is an interesting character study. Young Cyril (Thomas Doret) has been left at a children’s camp by his father. While trying to get back in contact with his father, the boy meets Samantha (Cécile De France), a hairdresser. She takes a liking to him and decides to foster him on weekends. Things are shaky at first, especially after the boy finds his dad. Cyril becomes more irrational, but eventually finds his way with the help and love of Samantha. The acting is stellar; De France is particularly good as the harried foster mother who obviously cares about the child and wants to see him happy and healthy. The film ends on kind of a down note, yet the ending is extremely satisfying, as it ties up all of the loose ends and shows just how much Cyril has developed and changed.