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“Rodeo”: Can a biker film be feminist?
Julie Ledru plays the spirited and independent Julia. photo
© Plaion Pictures/dpa
Lola Quivoron’s directorial debut received a minor award at the Cannes Film Festival. “Rodeo” is a story about motorcycles. And much more.
French director Lola Quivoron made a biker film for people who don’t really like biker films. The drama “Rodeo” has everything that makes such a film: Lots of motorcycles. Motocross and motorcycle racing with long stunt rides. People who define themselves through biking, who see their freedom in it. But still there is more.
Above all, a main character who does not fit into the cliché. Julia (Julie Ledru) is only really happy when she’s riding down streets on a motorbike. But, first of all, she lives in relative poverty and has no money for this hobby. And secondly, she is not welcomed in the male-dominated scene.
Julia gets her motorbikes illegally. Then she falls under the spell of a group that organizes illegal motorcycle meetings. There, men demonstrate their skills with breakneck stunts. They too are more on the fringes of society, some sleep in a workshop and receive orders from a gang leader who is in prison. This boss then has a special idea of how to harness Julia.
Woman in a group full of machos
“Rodeo” has a great sense of rhythm. The camera stays close to this fascinating and impenetrable protagonist. Julia is fearless and criminal, while at the same time always struggling to hold her own in a group full of macho people. Her femininity is repeatedly questioned by men. But it is also coveted by others. She herself – but this is only hinted at – feels more attracted to a certain woman. Incidentally, Julie Ledru herself comes from the motorcycle scene and is an amateur actress, as the director Quivoron explained.
There have been other feminist biker films in film history, such as “She – Devils on Wheels” from 1968. But there aren’t many. Quivoron’s directorial debut, Rodeo, which won a sideline honors at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, is a must-see addition.
Rodeo, France 2022, 105 min, FSK 16+, by Lola Quivoron, with Julie Ledru, Yannis Lafki, Antonia Buresi