Who knew that a simple premise with all the usual Dardennes Bros. trimmings and trinkets could receive such a favourable critical response? The Cannes V.I.P jacket wearing Belgium duo grab fellow countrymen Cécile de France and elite club member in the Dardenne camp in Jérémie Renier to portray the duel nature of society and our responsibility towards children/those less fortunate with The Kid With a Bike. The young Thomas Doret joins the rankings in Émilie Dequenne (Rosetta), Morgan Marinne (The Son) and Renier himself from La Promesse as a child who has slipped through the cracks, but finds someone to break his fall. Less school of hard knocks as in the majority of their films, it’s an encouraging message about how collectively society should be held accountable for its actions. I speak for myself, but I think this is a stronger film than their Palme d’Or winning L’enfant. Here’s the positive reaction from our panel of critics. Update: This is the top graded film on our panel as of today.
