Beijing Bicycle

2001, Wang Xiaoshuai, 113 minutes, Mandarin

Teenage country boy A Gui starts a new life in Beijing, spending his days cycling through the capital’s crowded streets. His dream is to save up enough money to purchase his work bicycle. Meanwhile, high school student Xiao Jian comes from an impoverished Beijing family. A stolen bicycle leads the two boys down a path of adolescent rebellion and growing pains. Paying tribute to Vittorio De Sica’s Italian neo-realist masterpiece Bicycle Thieves (1948), Wang Xiaoshuai vividly depicts two young, restless, and sensitive souls as they navigate the last steps of childhood. The final chase scene through Beijing’s iconic alleyways is a remarkable visualization of the city’s dynamism and life.