A "cyclo" is a bicycle-drawn taxi similar to a rickshaw, and, in this story, the nickname of an 18-year-old boy trying to scrape together a living in the desperate poverty of Ho Chi Mihn City. Cyclo lives with his grandfather (Le Kinh Huy) and two sisters (Tran Nu Yen-Khe and Pham Ngoc Lieu), and drives his taxi for a bitter woman (Nhu Quynh Nguyen) who devotes most of her time to her mentally unstable son (Bjuhoang Huy). When the pedal-cab is stolen, Cyclo is forced into a life of crime to
repay the debt and falls in with a group of petty thugs led by a self-styled poet (Tony Leung Chiu Wai). What Cyclo doesn't know at first is that the poet is also a pimp, and he's been using his romantic wiles to lure Cyclo's older sister into a career as a prostitute. Cyclo was directed by Tran Anh Hung, whose breakthrough film was the acclaimed drama The Scent of Green Papaya. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Just as impressive as his feature debut Scent of the Green Papayas, as a poetic study of survival in modern and ravished Vietnam, Cyclo will be compared to De Sica's post- WWII classic Bicycle Thief.
It's a respectable film that shows how a corrupt and immoral society can sadly bring down the innocence that lives in its midst. It had some good performances too, but, I personally think it went on about a half hour too long.
February 28, 2009
Jared H
Super Reviewer
Pretty relentless, leaves a wide swath of fiery death and destruction in its wake. Unfortunately, you could light the entire inner city on fire and it would probably look better. Now I have to watch Cidade de Deus and see how that compares.
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