Xich lo (1995)

Director:

Anh Hung Tran

Writer:

Anh Hung Tran (writer)

Release Date:

2 August 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

From the director of the Academy Award Nominated film "The Scent of Green Papaya" comes a shocking new vision of beauty, passion and power.

Plot:

A young man who struggles through life by earning some money with his bicycle-taxi in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city) gets contact to a group of criminals...

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Amputee | Taxicab | Orphan | Car Accident

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Le Van Loc	...	Cyclo
Tony Leung Chiu Wai	...	Poet
Tran Nu Yên-Khê	...	Sister
Nhu Quynh Nguyen	...	Madam
Hoang Phuc Nguyen	...	Tooth
Ngo Vu Quang Hal	...	Knife
Tuyet Ngan Nguyen	...	Happy Woman
Doan Viet Ha	...	Sad Woman
Bjuhoang Huy	...	Crazy Son
Vo Vinh Phuc	...	Cyclo's Friend
Le Kinh Huy	...	Grandfather
Pham Ngoc Lieu	...	Little Sister
Le Tuan Anh	...	Handcuff Man
Le Cong Tuan Anh	...	Drunken Dancer
Van Day Nguyen	...	Lullaby Man
Bui Thi Mingh Duc	...	Poet's Mother
Trinh Thinh	...	Foot Fetishist
Din Tho Nguyen	...	Poet's Father
Viet Thang Nguyen	...	Cocaine Policeman
Thanh Lam	...	Singer
Gia Khoan	...	Government Official
Huang Kiem	...	Man at TAK-47
Mao Can	...	Urine Fetishist
Chu Hung	...	Money Thief
Manh Cuong Tran	...	Cabaret Man
Quoc Hung Tran	...	Gorilla
Truong Thanh Nghi	...	Victim of the Lullaby
Pham Hai Truong	...	Nguyen Thi Hoa
Loc Tran	...	Fireman
Minh Tuan Tran	...	Old Man
Van Dung Nguyen	...	Petrol Seller
Pham Duy Huong	...	Old Man
Le Thai Ngoc Hoan	...	Child of the Fountain
Ba Phan Chalatoan	...	Napping Client
Dang Minh Chau	...	Friend of the Cyclo
Van Loi Tran	...	Friend of the Cyclo
Le Anh Son	...	Friend of the Cyclo
Phan Van Nhun	...	Pox Sufferer
Dang Van Duc	...	Pox Sufferer
Nhat Yu Tran	...	Pox Sufferer
Huu Chau Nguyen	...	Pox Sufferer
Thai Ong Lai	...	Pox Sufferer

Directed by
Anh Hung Tran

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Anh Hung Tran		writer

Produced by
Adeline Lecallier	....	associate producer
Alain Rocca	....	associate producer
Christophe Rossignon	....	producer

Original Music by
Tiêt Tôn-Thât

Cinematography by
Benoît Delhomme
Laurence Trémolet

Film Editing by
Nicole Dedieu
Claude Ronzeau

Production Design by
Benoît Barouh

Set Decoration by
Frédéric Vialle

Costume Design by
Henriette Raz

Makeup Department
Laurent Blanchard	....	hair stylist
Valérie Tranier	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nicolas Cambois	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Jean-Michel Simonet	....	assistant art director
Tran Nu Yên-Khê	....	set designer

Sound Department
Edmée Doroszlai	....	sound utility
Marie-France Ghilbert	....	sound
Olivier Le Vacon	....	boom operator
Dominique Vieillard	....	co-sound mixer
François Waledisch	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Xavier Tauveron	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Laurence Guzzo	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Daniel Zalay	....	music recording: Artistic director

Production Companies

• Canal+
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
• Cofimage 5
• Cofimage 6
• Giai Phong Film Studio
• La Sept Cinéma
• Les Productions Lazennec
• Lumière
• Salon Films
• Société Française de Production (SFP)

Distributors

• Prooptiki (1996) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Alta Films (Spain)
• BIM Distribuzione
• Cinépix Film Properties (CFP) (1996) (USA) (subtitled)
• Galileo Medien AG (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Lumière Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS) (as "Entre a Inocência e o Crime")

Also Known As:

Cyclo (France)

Runtime:

USA:123 min

Country:

Vietnam | France | Hong Kong

Language:

Vietnamese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:U | Australia:R | France:-12 | Germany:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | Vietnam:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

"Visa d'exploitation" in France: #83320

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

Creep

Possibly the most stunningly visual film ever made

While Tran Anh Hung's "Cyclo" is one of the most stunningly visual films that I have ever seen, I have heard it commented that it is merely "eye candy." I think that this statement could most certainly be argued for by someone who isn't very perceptive. Because although "Cyclo" is a film that is very much a film that is about movement and composition, it is much more than simply "eye candy." It is, I think, one of the greatest films I have ever seen. "Cyclo"'s influences are easy to identify. There are strong elements of French New Wave style apparent throughout. It is also easy to spot the influence of some of the more recent stylized Hong Kong action pictures. But "Cyclo" is obviously not a French New Wave film, and it is no action picture. While it may contain these elements, it is itself a true original - completely unlike anything I've ever seen before. And although Tran's earlier film, "The Scent of Green Papaya" was very good and showed much promise, Tran's follow-up caught me completely off-guard. It simply blows his previous effort out of the water. "Cyclo" has a complex narrative structure that makes it one of the reasons why it's more than eye candy. It is mad, rambling, almost constantly moving (employing excellent handheld camerawork) and can leave the viewer frustrated and confused. It doesn't follow a linear pattern, but seems to branch off whenever it feels like it to follow some other goings-on. In this respect I am reminded of John Cassavetes, and wonder if Tran modeled this seemingly loose style after his works. The story of "Cyclo" is that of a young man who practically supports his family as a pedicab driver ("cyclo") on the mean streets of Saigon. When the pedicab is stolen by some thugs, the young man turns to a gang member (Hong Kong star Tony Leung) to help him retrieve it. Eventually it leads him to a life of petty crime, and in one of the more spectacular scenes in the film he buys a bottle of gasoline from a young kid and then buys the shirt off the kid's back, tears the shirt, stuffs the end in the bottle, lights it on fire and proceeds to throw his homemade bomb into an empty warehouse - all in the middle of the day, surrounded by people rushing by on bicycles.

The young man's (who is never named, as are any of the other characters in the film) story is weaved in with the story of the silent gangster Leung and the young man's sister, who is a prostitute in the gangster's employ. It's also so much more than that, but I'm in a rush so I'm not going to go into a lengthy plot synapsis but I very much recommend this film for a variety of reasons.