Review: The Kid with a Bike

Film Review for Intuition

In their latest film, The Kid with a Bike, the Dardenne brothers continue to prove that they are masters of cinema and, more importantly, they understand it as an art form.  Part way through this superbly executed offering, frequent collaborator Cécile de France who plays Samantha, a caring hairdresser, gives the young protagonist a warning which resonates throughout the works of the Belgian auteurs: ‘Don’t be upset if it’s not the way you’re dreaming it to be.’

Far from being upset, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne show in their films that there is still reason to rejoice in the world that exists around us; we don’t have to dream. Their latest film lands us in Seraing, a suburb of the Belgian city of Liège, a city which has taken the focus of many of the Dardennes’ productions. The simple and innocent title of the film, remnant of Vittorio De Sica’s 1948 classic Bicycle Thieves, immediately displays the naturalistic, charming style which has become a signature of the pair who share writing and directing credits. Shot with an unforced, unparalleled naturalism, we are presented with the lonesome figure of Cyril, a young orphaned kid, or gamin, whose futile search for his father’s affection releases him into a journey of neglect, betrayal, and love.

The corruption of innocence is played out well as Cyril, played by newcomer Thomas Doret, seeks attention from marginal figures that neglect and exploit his loyalty. Despite being centred on a child, the film certainly doesn’t shy away from big emotions as not far into the realist narrative, Cyril is presented with the depressing fact that his Dad, who has become the figure of the boy’s yearning, does not want him. All is not lost, however, as Samantha, bike-in-hand, arrives as a source of hope for the youth who has nowhere else to turn. 

Constantly cycling and running around the neighbourhood, Cyril is depicted as a character on a whirling search for love. One gripping scene towards the end of the film shows Samantha give up her bike for Cyril’s on account of hers having twice the gears of his own. It is Samantha, then, who provides the child with the ability to move faster in life. It is Cyril’s respectable maturity which, by the end, allows him to embrace it. 

The Dardenne brothers’ films have often been described as parables; masterpieces which show the vitality ever-present in the microcosms of society. This life-affirming film is no different as by the end we are charmed by the reminder that humanity still exists, even on the margins. Deservedly The Kid with a Bike, as with their last four films, was a winner at Cannes taking the prestigious Grand Jury prize whilst also being nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film. This fantastically realist film, packed with raw emotion, is a must watch for any fan of the Dardennes and, for anyone who has yet to encounter their brilliant catalogue including the likes of Le Fils and L’Enfant, provides the perfect starting point. It is a heart-felt creation which has been crafted by two filmmakers who possess a heightened sensitivity to the world around them and display it on the screen with great dexterity. 

Posthumanism and Hollywood

'I think, therefore I cannot possibly be an automaton.'

Society has always bred anxieties towards 'the Other'. Whether it be a result of Imperial anxieties, differing cultures or, as the human succumbs to the posthuman, the threat of the automaton. In his fantastic and accessible book Alien Chic: Posthumanism and the Other Within (2004), Neil Badmington discusses how our perceptions of aliens have changed; as human essence seeps away from us, we become more and more identifiable with 'the Other' found in the alien - our fear is discharged. This fear can be seen to be at its height in Hollywood in the early 1950s invasion narratives which were in constant production. 

'When Hollywood need a convenient home for the monsters that cast their alien shadows over the invasion narratives of the 1950s, it regularly turned – perhaps unsurprisingly, to Mars.’

Neil Badmington.

The alien shadows cast over Hollywood by Byron Haskin's 1953 adaptation of H.G. Welles' The War of the Worlds provides the perfect example of this. Humans are forced to come together against an alien threat from Mars which seeks to wipe-out the human race. Haskin constantly reminds us of the incredible difference between 'Us' and 'Them', a binary construction which drives the narrative. Badmington identifies this as an anxiety of 1950s culture - the loss of the self to an external threat which is in no way like us: 'Goodness and mercy seem not to be concepts recognized by the alien invaders.'

This complete difference between the alien threat and us provided a vehicle for fear in these invasion narratives. As the 20th Century advanced, so to did Hollywood's relationship with 'the Other'. The simplistic relationship of 'Us' and 'Them' made way to a much more complex one which would see 'the Other' invade the human. Films such as Tim Burton's Mars Attacks! are direct parodies of such productions, the external alien threat has become laughable by the end of the 20th Century.

The threat now comes from within, the alien is a production of man. Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982) provides the most notorious example of this as Deckard, the second deliberate pun stemming from the great Humanist thinker Rene Descartes in this article, must trace down and terminate a group of rebel replicants. As the film progresses human identity is questioned as emotion and empathy seem to be traits aligned more with the automatons rather than the expressionless human (Ford).

We have reached what Derrida would describe as a 'crisis of the versus', the binaries humans have constructed to affirm human values have been dismantled. So, where do we go from here? For Badmington, we have moved from 'Alien hatred', to 'Alien love', indeed Alien Chic! By celebrating the things we do have in common with the fictional 'other', we are also distinguishing the things which we don't have in common. 

TBC.

Live Review

Ghostpoet and Alt-J

© Sarah Christian

Where: Lancaster Library

When: 25^th February 2012

Who: Alt-J and Ghostpoet

With 8.30pm fast approaching and technical difficulties resolved, Lancaster library opened its doors to a crowd buzzing with anticipation of the evening ahead of them. The sound of Alt-J, a four-piece formed in Leeds and currently touring with the likes of Wild Beasts, welcomed an audience eager to revel in the cutting edge music being showcased tonight as Ghostpoet is welcomed to the ‘Get-it-loud in libraries’ stage. Defining themselves as ‘jump-folk’ and ‘trip-folk’, the band brought thundering bass, moving harmonies and hip-hop drumbeats whilst keys and guitar riffs weave around each other leaving their audience forever wanting more. A gripped audience are taken through tracks from their unpredictable, yet accessible, demo. Tracks such as ‘Matilda’ and ‘Fitzpleasure’ show they’re a band able to please a crowd with their music and by the end of their accomplished set Alt-J leave holding high expectations for what their future holds, I certainly do.

A rearrangement and sound-check later and what started as a buzz has been lifted to sheer vivacity as an exhilarated crowd await London MC Obaro Ejimiwe, better known as his alias Ghostpoet. When the Mercury Prize nominee does take to the stage it’s to an audience that are responsive, jovial and high in spirits. Offering two promising new tracks, complete with catchy guitar riffs and pertinent lyrics, alongside those taken from his genre-defying album ‘Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam’ which have delighted audiences up and down the country, Ghostpoet succeeded in giving the library a night which it won’t forget too easily. Innocently asking whether to pronounce the night’s venue as Lancaster or ‘Lancar-ster’, revealing his southerly roots, Ghostpoet brought a smile to the face of everyone in the room as he too looked to be enjoying the evening’s revelry just as much as his satisfied fans.

Finishing his set with the brilliant ‘Cash & Carry Me Home’ Ejimiwe has the whole place jumping, in a library of all places, to an extended version of the song that nobody wants to end. When Ghostpoet does leave the stage he does so with a smile on his face and a confession that he has ‘never been hot and sweaty in a library before!’ Venturing into the appreciative crowd after the gig and meeting his public, he is assured by many that this Lancaster audience have never had such a memorable time, nor made such an incredible noise in a library before; it’s a night of firsts for all.

Ghostpoet

Ghostpoet article for 'The Whistleblower'

For Ghostpoet, 2011 was an astounding year which saw the release his debut single, “Cash & Carry Me Home”, on Giles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings in January; a Mercury Prize nomination for his debut album “Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam” in July; and performances at several major festivals including Glastonbury, Sonar and Bestival throughout the summer. Ghostpoet’s eclectic productions and increasingly popular “Ghost Tapes”, a series of mixes compiled by Ghostpoet, display his varying influences which range from bands such as Badly Drawn Boy, “The Hour of the Bewilderbeast” being the first album he ever bought, to the thriving UK grime scene. Layered over the top of these charming, hook-laden electronic beats is Ghostpoet’s signature baritone voice which delivers the MC’s wistfully poetic musings on his life so far. Dubbing himself as “a lad with a lisp with some stories to tell”, it is safe to say that despite the great amount of success Ghostpoet has achieved in last year, his feet remain well and truly on the ground. This refreshingly original rapper/producer described 2011 as the fastest year of his life so far, a year which culminated in a long-time overdue collaboration with Mike Skinner’s latest project the D.O.T. at the end of November. Ghostpoet will be bringing his brilliantly lethargic, genre-defying refrain to Lancaster Library on February 25 for a suitably intimate set which will showcase tracks from his debut album featuring a live concoction of drums, guitar, synth and crisp vocals.