Rating: 
Summary: ignore amazons review
Review: mr kehrs words is the typical first worlders view of the third world. like typical americans, he fails to recognize the tragedy that with great beauty comes ugliness and violence, and also the optimism of the opposite. the beauty of the shots, the life captured in this film, the beauty of the actress' face, this is what makes this film worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable!
Review: Oh my, this was an unbelievable movie. I was flipping through the channels when IFC started this movie. At first I thought it was a documentary of the horrificaly poor life of Vietnamese society. Little by little this mesmerizing story came to life. I was horrified, appalled, yet completely taken aback by this tale. This movie was so well acted that I really thought it was reality. Tony Leung is an awesome actor (also a hottie) who is sad and unhappy with his miserable existance of himself and those around him. Each character takes their own dark path in order to survive the harsh life they exist in. If you want a movie that is heartwrenching and will make you think alot about society and how lucky and unlucky circumstances of birth can be, then this movie is for you. It is not an easy movie to mentally digest, but it is superb.
Rating:
Summary: powerfully dark world and suspenseful human dilemmas
Review: One of the first relatively mainstream movies to show Saigon to the modern world, Cyclo is a brilliant combination of dark urban imagery, contemporary music, and the human condition. The innocence and nobility of children is played against the backdrop of a corrosive underworld born of the ills of past decades. The film, although somewhat uplifting, drives home the utter hopelessness of a world in which there is really no way to engineer an escape from a life of fear for people born on the bottom in an ailing society.
Rating: 
Summary: Avoid at all cost.
Review: One of the worst movies I've ever seen. I can't believe I watched the entire thing without becoming sick. There is nothing artistic in a film this bleak.
Rating: 
Summary: quite good
Review: some flaws, but still it is film as visual art. A Vietnamese Taxi Driver.
Rating: 
Summary: Well done but dark and depressing
Review: This 1995 Vietnamese import is scary. Filmed on the streets of Hanoi, it is the story of a 18-year old who drives a cyclo for a living, picking up passengers all day and pedaling them around the city. Life is very harsh and he and his family live in poverty. Then, his world spins out of control when his cyclo is stolen and he is coerced into a life of crime. Evil is all around him and he experiences nothing but unrelenting cruelty. To top it off, the leader of the gang is renting out his sister to men with rather peculiar fetishes. The whole tone of the film is dark and depressing and I'm sorry I didn't turn it off but I kept waiting for something good to happen, some turn of events that would take this sad tale and change the mood. That didn't happen though. And even though a false somewhat happy ended was put on the conclusion, the film never had a single bright point that could lift the dark atmosphere. I feel the film was well done, but it was very confusing and the forced me to deal with some rather upsetting themes. I certainly can't recommend it for the average viewer and think that even the most hardened film buff would find it just too depressing.
Rating:
Summary: Well done but dark and depressing
Review: This 1995 Vietnamese import is scary. Filmed on the streets of Hanoi, it is the story of a 18-year old who drives a cyclo for a living, picking up passengers all day and pedaling them around the city. Life is very harsh and he and his family live in poverty. Then, his world spins out of control when his cyclo is stolen and he is coerced into a life of crime. Evil is all around him and he experiences nothing but unrelenting cruelty. To top it off, the leader of the gang is renting out his sister to men with rather peculiar fetishes. The whole tone of the film is dark and depressing and I'm sorry I didn't turn it off but I kept waiting for something good to happen, some turn of events that would take this sad tale and change the mood. That didn't happen though. And even though a false somewhat happy ended was put on the conclusion, the film never had a single bright point that could lift the dark atmosphere. I feel the film was well done, but it was very confusing and the forced me to deal with some rather upsetting themes. I certainly can't recommend it for the average viewer and think that even the most hardened film buff would find it just too depressing.
Rating:
Summary: Truly disgusting film!
Review: This has to be one of the more offensive movies that I have seen. It includes a highly improbable plot with gratuitous violence interspersed with some extremely boring scenes. As a depiction of Vietnamese society, it is feeding from the bottom of the garbage heap. So, if you enjoy a nice masochistic, nauseating flick, this one is for you. Otherwise don't waste your money on this piece of trash. What a great dissapointment after the Director's previous opus, "The Scent of Green Papaya".
Rating:
Summary: If You Liked "City of God," You'll Love Cyclo!
Review: This movie should come with a warning cause it's simply dynamite! However, it's not for beginners. If you want to see some romanticized view of exotic beauty in foreign lands, grab some wine and your honey, and see Tran Ahn Hung's other movies, like "The Scent of Green Papaya". That movie, although dealing with serious issues, is like 'Reality Lite'. You can ignore aspects of the human experience that plague the mind of your inner insomniac. But "Cyclo" is no joke! This here is some powerful stuff. Not for beginners, this! And, what could be better than Cyclo on DVD?! I can see my favorite parts anytime and instantly transport myself to my own private VietNam. Cool. If you are familiar with popular cinema from Asia, you know the system's are not like American movies. Often certain popular actors are routinely coupled. I find this habit refreshing, especially here. In some ways, the more films you see the more shades there are to an actors ability in the big picture. On a small scale, the film makers bank on the public seeing more films since certain famous pairings generate the feeling that the actors are like your old friends. If you don't feel manipulated by this tactic, it can be the cinematic equivalent of a fun time at an amusement park, when you're with your way-out-of-town friends, always taking different rides. Furthermore, as far as East Asian Cinema goes, in my experience, as with all world cinema, you don't know what's it's all about until it's over. This film, like much of world cinema, is not trying to spoonfeed you. This movie gets 'heavy'. But if you stay with it, the whole of the film and the story within are very gratifying. As far as my criteria for a good flick goes, this one meets my standard for world cinema, and far surpasses American commercial films. The editing is seemless. The actors are fluid and charismatic as always (Remember, old friends are we). The cinematography is stunning. The script has a definite feeling of realism. These characters say what they really would say (and maintain appropriate silences too), not that I know what a struggling Vietnamese escort or cabbie would say. But, dig this, a good story like this feels real, draws you in, shows you things you never saw woven into a story that holds you 'til the credits, and stays with you after, spinning in your mind in true 'twist-a plot' fashion, ya? If you let yourself into the world of these characters, alternate possibilities will come to mind when it's through. Aside: Those of you who love Hong Kong film will enjoy seeing Tony Leung here - very believable and adorable! Secondly, and most important, DON'T EAT PORK BEFORE YOU SEE THIS MOVIE!!!! Nuff said. I won't ruin the story by divulging any specific special parts or attributes of the film. My (somewhat pompous) point is, I saw the movie... The movie was good.
Rating:
Summary: A hidden gem
Review: Tran Anh Hung's follow up work to Scent of Green Papaya really excited me long before it's release. It was shot in contemporary Saigon and reflected the street life of a country which opens up it's doors to the rest of the world slowly and suspecting. Film is beatifully shot and well acted, especially camera work with all the colours that makes this film so real and in a way, looks breathing as a live thing. Story is told in a very emotional as well as stone cold real way thus melting both notions with touches of humanity, regret,innocence and lots of serious violence which for my point of view , gets as real as camera can be. Like in the most of the Asian cultural scene past and present , sadness and misery plays a great deal of importance in the lives of people circled with hopelessness and very limited choices. Film's success comes from it's poetic images which actually floats in the scene as we actually witness their actions and surroundings as real. This is a movie which actually touches peoples hearts and souls without pretending to do so. This film is a true classic of the new Asian cinema which will undeniably be the succesor of the slow dying and ever pretending euro cinema and a definite wach for all the true movie lovers.
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