Beijing Bicycle

Toronto International Film Festival Program Book
2001

Beijing Bicycle
Wang Xiaoshuai
Taiwan/France, 2001
113 minutes
Colour/35mm
Production Company: Are Light Films/ Pyramide Productions
Producer: Peggy Chiao, Fabienne Vonier
Screenplay: Wang Xiaoshuai, Tang Danian, Peggy Chiao, Hsu Hsiao-ming
Cinematographer: Liu Jie
Editor: Liao Ching-song
Production Designer: Cao Anjun
Sound: Chen Chen
Music: Weng Feng
Principal Cast: Cui Lin, Lee Bin, Zhou Xun, Gao Yuanyuan, Lee Shuang
Production: Arc Light Films

Wang Xiaoshuai is best known for his tough, unflinching portraits of contemporary China in films like So Close to Paradise and The Days. So his new film, Beijing Bicycle, comes as something of a surprise. A lyrical, good-natured romp through present-day Beijing, it is a breezy allegory about how we might rethink our ethical constructs in a changed society. The film shimmers with Xiaoshuai’s characteristically beautiful imagery, and follows two intertwined stories of people dependent on that unshakable symbol of transportation in mainland China, the unpretentious bicycle.

At seventeen, Guei has left his provincial town to find fame and fortune in the big city. Ultimately he finds work as a bicycle courier, earning a pittance per trip until the cost of his sleek bicycle is paid off. The work is hard but he doesn’t complain, knowing that he will soon own something and be one step closer to owning other things and starting a family. Just as he is about to buy the bike from his boss, he finds that it has gone missing. Guei scours the city in desperation until he spots a young man riding it down the street. After a violent (albeit funny) confrontation, Guei learns that the kid, named Jian, bought it at a flea market. The bike has already become an important part of Jian’s life, as he uses it to impress girls and his friends. Both Guei and Jian need the bicycle to fulfill their lives, so they must share it—to comical and touching ends.

Wang Xiaoshuai keeps the pace brisk and inviting, with each development bringing another small but generous insight into the human condition. Lee Bin and Cui Lin form a marvelous counterpoint—the saucy city kid and the country hick—with performances to match. Beijing Bicycle is a warmhearted film with a refreshingly upbeat message.
—Noah Cowan