Beijing Bicycle

Colour, 35mm
China, France, 2001, 111 min
Section: Horizons - Awarded Films

Synopsis

A boy named Guei leaves his village for work in Beijing. Full of expectation and great hopes, he throws himself into the whirr of the big city, but the reality is tougher than his foolish imaginings. It takes ages, but he finally gets a job as a delivery boy. He earns ten yuan for each package he delivers and after saving 600 yuan he will become the owner of the fabulous silver mountain bike his manager has been loaning him. The bicycle is Guei’s pride and joy, and he cannot wait for the day when he will hand his boss the last payment and become the sole owner. But as the happy moment comes within reach the bike disappears. The boy is determined to get it back at all costs. When the bike finally turns up, however, its new owner, Jian, claims that he bought it at a flea market, and understandably refuses to give it up. Since Guei can’t clear his debt to the firm which employs him there’s nothing left to do but share the bicycle. . . .

About the director

Wang Xiaoshuai (b. 1966, Shangai) finished film school in Beijing in 1988 and began working as an assistant director for Fujian Film Studios. His feature debut came in 1993 with The Days, a film not appreciated by the regime. The result was that Wang Xiaoshuai had to finish his next, independent film, Frozen (1995), under the pseudonym Wu Ming. The director’s third attempt, So Close to Paradise, was only shown three years after it was made. Wang Xiaoshuai is considered one of the most talented directors of the so-called sixth generation. His latest film, Beijing Bicycle, was awarded the Special Jury Prize this year at Berlin.