Beijing Bicycle

An affecting social study in urban Chinese life, Beijing Bicycle is about two teenage boys engaged in an ownership tug-of-war over a shiny new mountain bike: Guo (Cui Lin), a courier/messenger who is fired after his delivery bike is stolen, and Jian (Li Bin), a schoolboy who buys the stolen bike at a flea market. With Guo setting out on a desperate but stubborn quest to find the bike among millions in Beijing, the film gets off to a strong start, as director Wang Xiaoshuai establishes a vivid atmosphere of congested streets and lower-caste lives. But the movie shoots itself--if you'll excuse the sprained analogy--in the foot when the two boys come face to face and the question of ownership could be so simply cleared up. Unfortunately, since the story can't end after only 45 minutes, the director tediously drags the action out far beyond its rational finale, while the viewer is left second-guessing the characters over and over again to the point of annoyance. Not a necessary purchase. (R. Blackwelder)