Cyclo
dir. Trần Anh Hùng · 1996
The struggle for survival in a harsh environment can lead individuals to make desperate choices that compromise their morals.
Plot
Follows a young cyclo driver on his poverty-driven descent into criminality in modern-day Ho Chi Minh City. The boy's struggles to scratch out a living for his two sisters and grandfather in the mean streets of the city lead to petty crime on behalf of a mysterious Madame from whom he rents his cyclo.
Why watch
"Cyclo" poetically weaves the haunting tale of a young cyclo driver embroiled in the moral complexities of survival in modern Vietnam. It’s a visceral exploration of familial love and the desperate choices that come with poverty, underscored by a lush yet gritty visual style that captures the heartbeat of Ho Chi Minh City.