Beijing Bicycle

Cathy L. Thomas
NCTA – Film Review: “Beijing Bicycle”
9th -12th Grades – Art I, II, III, IV & AP Studio Art
Poca High School, Poca, WV
12-3-18
The 2001 film “Beijing Bicycle” tells the story of a seventeen-year-old boy (Guei) from the country who moves to the city of Beijing in search of work. He gets a job as a bike messenger. He is given a very nice bike by the courier company that will be his once he pays it off through a percentage of wages earned from his deliveries.
Because each of the hired messengers were given identical bikes, Guei scratched marks into his to distinguish it. Right before his bike was almost paid off, it was stolen. Unable to fulfill his obligations, he loses his job. He pleaded with his boss and the boss agreed that IF he could find his bicycle, he could return to work.
All Guei wanted was to be a hard worker, however, throughout the entire film, this boy from the country is devoured by life in a metropolis. The vast differences in the social classes of Beijing carries through the story line. Guei is staying with a man a little older than him, I’m not sure the relation, but he runs a small market which is also his home. He explains the ways of the rich. One example is of a girl they watch through a window. As she changes outfits all day long, they talk about how wasteful she is and how many clothes she has. Later in the movie, we see the young girl getting fired from her job as a maid who had been getting into the closet of the real lady of the house. So while she was perceived as a rich girl, in reality she was of the same working class as the young men.
Amazingly, Guei finds his bike. A boy about his age, Jian had stolen it, although he claimed he bought it (with money he’d stolen from his own family). Jian had been promised a bike for years, and when his stepfather never provided one, he took money that had been hidden in their home. Jian had wanted a bike to fit in with a gang of boys who all had bikes, and to get the attention of a girl.
There is a back and forth with the bike throughout the movie. Every time Guei gets it back, Jian (with the help of his gang of friends) beat him and took it again.
In “Beijing Bicycle,” the bike is symbolic however it wasn’t about the bike, it was something that each wanted to gain along with it. Each boy desperately wants the bike, but for different reasons. For Guei, the bike represents a means for access to a job, a livelihood for a rural migrant. For Jian, it was a vanity item, what he “needed” to be cool and get the girl.
Although the film is interesting, it does not have a happy ending. It was difficult for me to watch the main character put through so many unfair situations. I imagine most viewers would find themselves frustrated with Guei’s lack of ability to stand up for himself. Even though he has a strong desire to work and keep his job, he comes off as weak over and over. It was also strange that several times fights broke out that escalated, however no adults or law enforcement officers intervened. Some of the scenes are illogical, or lost in the translation of reading the subtitles.
“Beijing Bicycle” is rated PG-13. I teach high school (grades 9th-12th) and I do believe the content and message would be appropriate for students this age, however, there is a brief moment of male nudity (from behind). I would have to seek advice from an administrator on how to handle this. I would imagine having students bring in a consent form signed by parents, as well as fast forwarding over that short scene would be acceptable.
I am an art teacher, but I am also responsible for a mentor group (homeroom). This movie could be seen as a powerful insight into the teen psyche. (Even though it is showing a version from a different culture).
Discussions could ensue about why Guei and Jian cannot live without the bicycle, and why their obsessions put them in danger causing them to do things they wouldn’t normally do.
The main plot deals with materialism, jealously, and righteous perseverance. In American culture, what would be the equivalent of the bicycle to Guei and Jian? (Perhaps a flashy sports car).
Teenage students could compare how conflicts in our culture compare to other cultures:
- rich versus poor
- right versus wrong
- bullying versus stubbornness