Les Bicyclettes de Belsize 1968

The Boy, Anthony May, opens his day from a stylish rooftop flat, as the morning light spills over the city and he prepares for the day. He cycles into the streets below, the suburb alive with quiet green and the hum of distant traffic, while a jaunty theme song plays in the background. On a descent into the bustling streets he collides with a little girl on her bike and is knocked unconscious. The girl, Judy Huxtable, with pigtails, glasses and braces, looms over him, clearly besotted. When he wakes, he asks for her name, and she quietly tells him she is Kate. He bids her farewell and cycles off, with Kate following in his wake. As he pedals, he belts out a tune about not envying the responsible, monotonous lives of older people. At a bus stop, Kate blows a raspberry as she passes a queue of people, sparking a small dispute that ends with a playful food fight.

In a park, the man glances back to check if Kate is still following, loses control of his bike, and races down a hill, crashing through a large advertising hoarding. He climbs free and is suddenly struck by the face of a model, Julie, on a Raleigh bicycle poster. He sings a love ballad to her image and gathers wildflowers to offer. Kate tries to attract his attention, but he remains transfixed by the poster. She responds with another raspberry and continues to follow.

The man arrives at his workplace, a printer’s, and opens the mail to find a parcel containing a photographic portrait of Julie. He sits entranced, the street outside panning past as the image lingers in his mind. Meanwhile, Julie is at a fashionable party in the building, singing about how pampered and cloistered her world is, and how she longs for true love. She steps out, crosses the street, and sees the photo of herself now hung in the printer’s window. He recognizes her, she smiles tentatively at first, but then with growing confidence, and they share a kiss through the glass.

Before they can meet in person, Julie is whisked away in a limousine to a glamorous fashion shoot, posing in various groovy outfits on Parliament Hill and Hampstead Heath. She looks unhappy and distracted, wondering where the man she just met is. He cycles through the park, searching for her, and when he finds her, he sings his love again. They walk off hand in hand. The little girl watches them from the hill and looks sad. Then a little boy cycles up, sees her, smiles, and expresses his own attraction, which brings a small smile to Julie’s face. The two ride off together.