Beijing Bicycle

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Beijing Bicycle

PG-13

2002

1h 53m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

62%

Tomatometer

60 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

A young country boy, Guei (Cui Lin) comes to the big city determined to make it. He soon finds a job as a bike messenger in which he gets a percentage of each delivery, working hard to build up enough credit to own the bike for himself. The bike is stolen and winds up in the hands of Jian (Li Bin), a poor city boy who sees the bike as his way to make friends and impress the girl he loves. With both boys claiming the bike is theirs, a series of fights ensue over what is more than just a bike.

Critics Consensus

Though rather repetitive in its plot, Beijing Bicycle provides an interesting look at the economic and social changes that have occurred in China.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

10/14/2010

4/5

Great tale of two boys' struggle over a bicycle.

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Bruce Westbrook

Houston Chronicle

06/28/2002

C

An artful yet depressing film that makes a melodramatic mountain out of the molehill of a missing bike.

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Peter Howell

Toronto Star

05/31/2002

3/4

With Beijing Bicycle, Wang has crafted a picturesque morality tale that slyly depicts the hopelessness of communism while pointing up the essential similarities between people of all classes.

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

01/04/2023

8/10

Even more than 20 years on, it is an exceptional film.

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Film Threat

12/06/2005

3/5

Daniel Kasman

d+kaz. intelligent movie reviews

08/07/2004

C-

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01/22/2015

Sad film in a lot of respects as the bicycle passes between the two boys, a symbol of social divides and the clasping onto hopes and dreams

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01/22/2013

Pretty good movie, really. Worth a viewing. I've been seeing a lot of Chinese films over the past few months and they've all been great, so... no complaints from me. This movie is depressing as sin, but really good and the development of the characters is solid.

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08/23/2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpHgZgFBfJ0

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06/10/2012

Un film ou personne n'est capable de prendre une decision intelligente...

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05/06/2012

Slow moving and not a whole lot of action. It's basically daily life of two boys and the dramas they experience, the only connection a bike. I'll still watch it despite the slowness of the movie.

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02/12/2012

depressing, but shows you the value of a simple bike to the urban poor in the developing world

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Wang Xiaoshuai

Director

Lin Cui

Guei

Li Bin

Jian

Xun Zhou

Qin

Yuanyuan Gao

Xiao

Li Shuang

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Synopsis

A young country boy, Guei (Cui Lin) comes to the big city determined to make it. He soon finds a job as a bike messenger in which he gets a percentage of each delivery, working hard to build up enough credit to own the bike for himself. The bike is stolen and winds up in the hands of Jian (Li Bin), a poor city boy who sees the bike as his way to make friends and impress the girl he loves. With both boys claiming the bike is theirs, a series of fights ensue over what is more than just a bike.

Director: Wang Xiaoshuai
Producer: Peggy Chiao, Hsiao-ming Hsu, Sanping Han
Screenwriter: Wang Xiaoshuai, Tang Danian, Peggy Chiao, Hsiao-ming Hsu
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Asiatic Films, Public Television Service Foundation, Eastern Television
Rating: PG-13 (Some Violence|Brief Nudity)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 25, 2002, Original
Box Office (Gross USA): $157.3K
Runtime: 1h 53m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)