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The Kid With a Bike

Play trailer Poster for The Kid With a Bike PG-13,  2012,  1h 27m,  Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 96% 132 Reviews Tomatometer 76% 25,000+ Ratings Popcornmeter
96% Tomatometer 132 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Abandoned by his father and left in state care, a young boy finds a new friend in the town's hairdresser, who agrees to foster him on weekends.
The Kid With a Bike

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Thanks to the Dardenne brothers' typically fine direction, The Kid with a Bike is a heart-wrenching, thematically and spiritually rich drama.

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Critics Reviews

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Keith Uhlich (All (Parentheses)) (Substack) Oct 27, 2025
5/5
Like much of the Dardennes’ output, The Kid with a Bike doubles as both an engrossingly perceptive human drama and a powerful religious parable. Go to Full Review
Stanley Kauffmann The New Republic Jun 18, 2013
The directing by the Dardenne brothers reflects their previous work: it wants to be unnoticed either for virtuosity or clumsiness, yet only virtuosos can attain this ideal. Go to Full Review
Tom Charity CNN.com Jan 7, 2013
There is not a wasted shot in this stripped down, pared back fable. Yet, it accrues a deep and lasting power. You won't see many better this year. Go to Full Review
Farah Cheded A Good Movie To Watch Aug 12, 2023
85/100
Realism and restraint make for a deeply stirring watch, courtesy of the Dardenne brothers’ compassionate filmmaking. Go to Full Review
Diego Batlle Otroscines.com Oct 4, 2022
8/10
The Dardenne [brothers] ratify with Le Gamin au Vélo the extraordinary depth of their beautiful, rigorous, implacable cinema... [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies Aug 22, 2022
4/5
...a stirring, poignant story Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Poe P Jan 24, 2019 Just recently I've discovered Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, watching the beautiful moral drama "Two days, one night", and I am happy that I did because this second film is very interesting too. This touching true-to-life story is absorbing and frank. It tells us that even if life is not fair most of the times, the ways out are always not far from you. See more
Draco W Jan 5, 2019 Raw and unflinching, much is made of films with graphic violence or nudity. but "Kid With A Bike"'s graphic portrayal of emotional "acting out" is more searing than a war film. And done by an 11 year old no less. See more
Luke L Jan 9, 2018 KANKER FILM JE DETESTE CET
Draco M Oct 15, 2017 Kids won't go astray for no reasons, all they need is love, care and guidance.
Poe P Oct 10, 2017 Really good movie that is overrated and underrated at the same time but still a great film.
Hermione S Jun 11, 2017 Pretty half-baked, especially by the standards of the Dardennes. For most of its length it's an exercise in frustration, watching an extremely unpleasant child with no impulse control cause chaos around him and push the limits of how unlikable a protagonist can be (I'm all for unlikable characters but this is the type of child that inspires fantasies of murder in others). And then suddenly everything gets resolved and the movie ends. It's abrupt to the point of feeling unfinished. My favourite part was Renier's character treating his son like a crazy ex-girlfriend. See more
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The Kid With a Bike

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Movie Info

Synopsis Abandoned by his father and left in state care, a young boy finds a new friend in the town's hairdresser, who agrees to foster him on weekends.
Director
Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Producer
Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Denis Freyd
Screenwriter
Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Distributor
IFC Films
Production Co
Archipel 35, Belgacom, Lucky Red, RTBF, Les Films du Fleuve, France 2 Cinéma
Rating
PG-13 (Smoking|Brief Language|Thematic Elements|Violence)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 16, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 9, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$20.5K
Runtime
1h 27m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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