Beijing Bicycle (Shiqi sui de dan che)
Starring Lin Cui, Bin Li, Yuanyuan Gao
Written by Peggy Chiao, Hsiao-ming Hsu, Danian Tang, Xiaoshuai Wang
Directed by Xiaoshuai Wang


THE CASE: A funny and often times touching story about how a bicycle impacts the lives of two young men struggling for recognition and happiness in the frenetic city of Beijing, where a bicycle is worth more to a person than a car.


THE GOOD: Great storytelling is always the key to great filmmaking. Beijing Bicycle is the perfect example of this. Writer/director Xiaoshuai Wang keeps things simple stupid and lets the humanity of his characters drive the film. Quei is essentially a simple minded, but strong character a la Forrest Gump, who comes to the big city in search of a better life by getting a job as a bike courier, which includes him getting a new bike. Jian is a student who is at the age where he feels he needs a bike to impress the hot girl at school, and after failing to get one from his father -- he decides to steal Quei’s. Wang skillfully navigates this universal tale of acceptance and recognition by first introducing us to each character in great detail and then aggressively mashes their two worlds together. The film is also surprisingly violent which you will either get a real kick out of or not.


THE BAD: When the film drifts towards more of a North American style, that is when it is at its weakest. Using time lapse techniques to emphasize comedic moments and using stereotypical characters like the big bad bully and stud at school are where the film falters a bit.


THE LAW: Beijing Bicycle is a unique film. It offers an insightful look at life in the city of Beijing as well as an insightful look at the human condition.