Jackson Booth-Millard This Vietnamese film was one of the titles I found listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I didn't know what to expect, but reading more about it, it wasn't what I expected, it made me even more keen to watch it. Basically in Ho Chi Mihn City, an eighteen-year-old boy (Le Van Loc), who was orphaned following the death of his father, is living in poverty, he takes over his father's job, pedaling a rental cyclo around busy streets of Sai Gon city to earn a living. The boy lives in a small house, with his grandfather (Le Kinh Huy), who repairs tires despite of his failing health, his little sister (Pham Ngoc Lieu), who shines shoes for customers of a neighbourhood restaurant, and his older sister (Tran Nu Yen Khe), who carries water at a local market. Their poor but peaceful lives are jeopardized when the cyclo is stolen by a gang, so with no other way of making money, the cyclo driver joins a criminal organisation, under the supervision of a brooding gang leader, who is also a poet (Tony Leung Chiu Wai). Meanwhile the older sister is also influenced by the poet, she becomes a prostitute, and they develop feelings for each other. The cyclo driver is brought by poet to meet Mr. Lullaby (Van Day Nguyen), who kills a victim by slitting their throat while singing a lullaby. There is unrest, as many rival gangs are fighting each other, the cyclo driver manages to find the man who stole his cyclo, he temporarily blinds him without being seen. The poet assigns the cyclo driver to murder a man, his two accomplices teach him how to use a gun to kill their intended target, they also give him pills to reduce his anxiety, but warn him not to take too many. Meanwhile the cyclo driver's sister is left in a nightclub with a client, but the man abuses her, the poet and the man realise their mistakes, the man tries to bribe the poet, but the poet kills him and then kills himself, setting fire to the room where he lives. The cyclo driver gets drunk and takes two tablets of the drug, he hallucinates, and mistakenly shoots himself twice. The next morning, the members of the gang find him badly injured but still alive, the lady of the cyclo business (Nguyen Nhu Quynh) releases him from the gang. It ends with the cyclo driver, still contemplating the memory of his father, driving his grandfather and his two sisters through a crowded road of Ho Chi Minh City. Obviously having to read subtitles, it was difficult to follow absolutely everything going on, but my attention was definitely caught by the really bloody and violent moments, and a memorable image of a young man pouring a tin of blue paint on himself, and the camerawork and long takes are interesting, overall it was a worthwhile crime drama. Good!

omar5 Cyclo introduce us to the though reality of life. In this case the slums of Saigon are taken as an example, however, it's obvious that there are not concrete references to the country itself as any other low income area could be taken as environment. The movie is rather rational structured, as it begins with tough but still normal lives of the main characters. As the plot unfolds, this first normal situation is suddenly shaken and everyone's life is completely changed in worse by those who impose their ruthless force upon others. During this unhappy experience, the two main characters experience how mean can people be to one another and they see how tough can life be, even worse than the way they were used to before, though one was an housekeeper and the other a bike-taxi driver. As the movie slings to its end, the two wretches are finally redeemed and they both go back to their normal life. "A normal life, which everyone deserves to lead". At the very end we hear this words, said by one of the pimps. Perhaps this is the real core of the movie. It's always better to lead your life the way it is, as long as the situation does not give you too pain. Furthermore, a change of life, both in better or in worse doesn't always bring more happiness. Thus, the movies ends in exactly the same situation it begins, however, everyone is much happier sticking to this way, rather than trying to change his situation going through all the troubles they have experienced.

HaN-hAn Xich lo is a highly disturbing movie which manages to combine aspects of many cinematic traditions to make something new. It seems that the director held European cinematic and directorial traditions very high, and that is plainly visible in this movies. But the use of colours that somehow seem to move the soul can only be asian.The humdrum of the city does not let up. The movie depicts a vicious cycle of abuse, extortion and violence. Le cyclo's attempt to get justice after his cyclo has been stolen is futile at first. Angry, he seeks help from le poete. This leads him into a spiral of violence, drugs and insanity. The fact that the actors do not have names, simply lables, such as "le cyclo," "le poete", and "le grand-pere," seem to reinforce the futileness of life in such conditions.There is a strong undercurrent of frustration in this movie. Le poete, pimping out his girlfriend to fetishists whose pleasure does not come from the sexual act. He wants to keep her virtue for himself, but of course, this is folly. And even sadder is the le grand-pere, who is old, and sick, and yet, has to perform back breaking work to get by in life. Given a chance to earn some money, he rejects it, sticking by his principles. But ultimately, this does not get him anywhere.So what is one to do? Being honest doesn't help you get anywhere. Neither does being a gangster. Or a madame. In the end, this is the question that remains unanswered...or to which there is no answer.

Plinger "Cyclo" is one of the greatest independent movies ever made. Vietnamese Auteur Tran Anh Hung shows how by accident violence becomes dominant in the life of a poor, young worker toiling in the streets of Saigon. Brilliantly shot with sometimes shocking and very intimate close-ups of violence and perversion, this movie deserves more attention. Besides "Cyclo" is also a documentary about the sad daily street life in giant third world cities and the permanent fight to survive.