Jesus this film is depressing. An orphaned cyclo driver (think of it as a
bicycle taxi), whose name is never given, slaves away all day on his rented
bicycle. Then one day his bicycle is stolen and he has no way of repaying
the hoods who own the bike. They forcibly recruit him into their crime
syndicate and put him under the control of Poet (Tony Leung Chiu-wai). At
the same time, Cyclo's sister turns to prostitution and begins a doomed
relationship with Poet. Cyclo's life, which was already shit,
is now flushed straight down into the gurgling bowels of Hell.
I guess it's a credit to the filmmakers because at moments CYCLO almost seems
like a fly-on-the-wall documentary. It's truly a unique and powerful
film. Le Van Loc turns in one hell of a performance, Tony Leung is very
good, ultra-depressing story, naturalistic camerawork, animal cruelty, torture,
violence, more depression, more animal cruelty, brutal but touching direction by
Tran Anh Hung, Radiohead, some creepy dude obsessed with piss.
Recommended.
