Cyclo
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Movie Reviews of Cyclo
Movie Review: After LOS OLVIDADOS and before CITY OF GOD there was CYCLO.
Summary: 4 Stars
Reminiscent of Bunuel's LOS OLVIDADOS and NAZARIN, CYCLO is filled to overflowing with negative images...even the singers in the open air restaurant are both missing a leg.
Le Van Loc is a malnourished young man who operates a bicycle taxi to help support his two sisters and aging grandfather, who all also work. When his bicycle is stolen he is forced to do odd jobs to pay off his debt to the Boss Lady. His life, which was already [...], is now flushed straight down into the gurgling bowels of Hell.
Your average moviegoer will probably be turned off by the violence, cruelty to animals and bleak outlook, but more serious film lovers will appreciate the amazing camerawork, the poetic flow of the story and the outstanding performances by everyone (including Tony Leung) and especially Le Van Loc, who in his one and only film appearance has outdone Will Smith's entire career. "Welcome to erff."
Movie Review: Well done but dark and depressing
Summary: 3 Stars
This 1995 Vietnamese import is scary. Filmed on the streets of Hanoi, it is the story of a 18-year old who drives a cyclo for a living, picking up passengers all day and pedaling them around the city. Life is very harsh and he and his family live in poverty. Then, his world spins out of control when his cyclo is stolen and he is coerced into a life of crime. Evil is all around him and he experiences nothing but unrelenting cruelty. To top it off, the leader of the gang is renting out his sister to men with rather peculiar fetishes.
The whole tone of the film is dark and depressing and I'm sorry I didn't turn it off but I kept waiting for something good to happen, some turn of events that would take this sad tale and change the mood. That didn't happen though. And even though a false somewhat happy ended was put on the conclusion, the film never had a single bright point that could lift the dark atmosphere.
I feel the film was well done, but it was very confusing and the forced me to deal with some rather upsetting themes. I certainly can't recommend it for the average viewer and think that even the most hardened film buff would find it just too depressing.
Movie Review: Early 50's Roy Rogers
Summary: 3 Stars
I should begin by stating that I lived and worked in Saigon for 8 years
in the 90's. My experience will therefore be different from many other
viewers.
The film effectively conveys the kinetic pace of Saigon, especially in
the later 90's, and the sense, if not the details, of how the low level,
cyclo based,"mob" exists and operates.
While at times it was dead on, at other times it portrayed things that
were culturaly ludicrous. Cyclo's don't have clean white t-shirts, prostitutes don't dance in evening gowns, and nobody would have
access to or wear a handcuff. There were many other little things that
didn't fit, from Saigon idioms/accent to relationships and settings.
So while I found the film disconcerting, like trying to use Roy Rogers
to portray the American West, for those unfimailiar with Vietnam it
is an idealized starting point and could be of some interest.
Movie Review: whacked out
Summary: 3 Stars
Little more than a collection of whacked out imagery showing someone's idea of a descent into human hell. No real plot or sense to what happens. I guess that's all it takes to win a Golden Lion.Movie Review: Very Overated
Summary: 2 Stars
I saw this film in the theater when it was released in 1996. I'm a fan of the genre, and enjoyed the directors previous film, "The Scent of Green Papaya." For me, this film doesn't measure up to those standards. It comes across as a random collection of scenes and images with a storyline sprinkled in. While there can be a beauty in that, this was the only movie I've ever seen where I honestly breathed a sigh of relief when it ended.