What to watch?

Bicycles are a great tool of empowerment. That is why they have always inspired artists to use them as a symbol of freedom and personal growth. Find below some of the greatest movies and documentaries ever realised that feature bicycles as instruments of self-realisation or simply as good companions in the difficult times of our lives.

Movie | Wadja (2012) - Realized by Haifaa al-Mansour, first female director in Saoudi Arabian. 10-year-old Wadjda challenges deep-rooted Saudi traditions in a determined quest to buy a bicycle. When everything goes against her plans, she sees one last chance in her school's Quran recitation competition and the large cash prize for first place. The first film ever shot entirely in Saudi Arabia, WADJDA is the story of a girl determined to fight for her dreams.
Movie | The Kid with a Bike (2011) - This Belgian movie, with its impressive number of nominations, will not let you indifferent. This touching drama tells the story of 11-year-old Cyril, who is abandoned by his father and left in care before befriending a local hairdresser. Not strictly about bikes, but the closing scene where Cyril rides away is certainly shocking and memorable.
Movie | E.T. The Extra-terrestrial (1982) – No need to introduce this movie, which is not so much about cycling but what a premium role the bicycle is playing! There is always a good excuse to watch it over again and re-discover the story of this Alien left behind on Earth and saved by young Elliot who decides to keep him hidden. With his bicycle, Elliot will help his new friend to escape Earth and return to his home world.
Movie | Girl on a bicycle (2013) – This independent romantic comedy tells you the story of Paolo, an Italian driving a Paris tour bus, that becomes engaged to the love of his life Greta. But shortly, he is smitten by a lovely Frenchwoman, Cécile, who keeps appearing beside his bus at traffic lights, riding her bicycle.
Movie | Raoul Taburin (2018) – French drama-comedy telling the story of Raoul Taburin, a little boy who has grown up without knowing how to ride a bicycle. The story of an immense misunderstanding lived as a curse.
Series | Stranger Things (2016) – A series not to be missed for all 80s and 90s science-fiction movie lovers. In 1983, in Indiana, a young boy goes missing near a top-secret government laboratory. As friends, family and local police search for answers, they are drawn into an extraordinary mystery involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one very strange little girl. It will make you remember what it meant to rely completely on your friends and bicycle, in simpler times. The fourth season will start on April 3rd.
Documentary | Bicycle (2014) – This documentary explores the question of ‘Why is cycling back in fashion?” and tells the story of cycling in the United Kingdom, back where the modern bicycle was invented. It weaves bicycle design, sport and transport through the retelling of some iconic stories and features interviews with notable contributors.
Documentary | Pedal the World (2015) - This documentary, pretty self-explanatory, tells the story of Felix Starck's 18,000 km journey through 22 countries as he pedals his way around the globe in 365 days. The whole documentary was shot, directed, edited and produced by him. It will get expectations up for your next cycling holiday!
Documentary | Murder of Couriers (2014) – Let’s go beyond this unusual title to discover the story of a group of cycle couriers over a three-year period. Some of the stars of the film tell how they escaped a life of crime and drug abuse by replacing it with the thrill of getting out on their bikes and getting paid for it.
Documentary | Blood Road (2017) - In this award-winning documentary, Rebecca Rusch cycles 1,930 km along the Ho Chi Minh Trail through the jungles of Vietnam. The mysteries surrounding her father's death in the Vietnam war lead this determined mountain biker on an emotional journey on a bicycle.

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What to watch?

Movie | Raoul Taburin (2018) – French drama-comedy telling the story of Raoul Taburin, a little boy who has grown up without knowing how to ride a bicycle. The story of an immense misunderstanding lived as a curse.

Documentary | Blood Road (2017) - In this award-winning documentary, Rebecca Rusch cycles 1,930 km along the Ho Chi Minh Trail through the jungles of Vietnam. The mysteries surrounding her father's death in the Vietnam war lead this determined mountain biker on an emotional journey on a bicycle.