Movies
TV Shows
People
01/02/1989 Drama 1h 19m
67
User score

Overview

The wife of Nasim, an Afghan immigrant in Iran, is gravely ill. He needs money to pay for her care, but his day labor digging wells does not pay enough. A friend connects Nasim to a two-bit promoter who sells tickets to watch Nasim ride a bicycle continuously for a week. The promoter brings in sick and aged spectators, haranguing them to find hope in Nasim's strength. Aided by his son, who feeds him as he rides, Nasim grinds out the days and shivering nights. Local officials believe this may be a plot and Nasim may be a spy; they try to sabotage him as do those who bet he won't finish the week. Will desperation alone get Nasim the money? Is any triumph an illusion?

  1. Mohsen Makhmalbaf

    Director, Writer

Top billed cast

  1. Mahshid Afsharzadeh

    Gypsy Woman

  2. Firouz Kiani

    Motorcyclist

  3. Samira Makhmalbaf

  4. Mohammadreza Maleki

    Jomeh

  5. Esmail Soltanian

    Showman

  6. Moharram Zaynalzadeh

    Nasim

  7. View more

Full Cast & Crew

Reviews

A review by CRCulver
Written by CRCulver on 2018-09-08
In the aftermath of the Soviet invasion and civil war, hundreds of thousands of Afghans fled across the border with Iran. There they struggled to survive, offering themselves as day labourers at exploitative wages, harassed by officials and just ignored by the bulk of Iranian society. Mohsen Makhmalbaf's 1987 film The Cyclist is an allegory for the Afghan refugee experience,

Nasim (Moharram Zaynalzadeh) must pay the hospital stay of his ailing wife and bring up his son Jomeh (Mohammad Reza Maleki), but even backbreaking labour as a well-digger doesn't pay the bills. When a local bus...read the rest
Read All Reviews

Recommendations

  1. The Born Losers63%
  2. The Good Lie74%
  3. The Kite Runner73%
  4. Cardboard Boxer63%
  5. Max71%
  6. Charm City Kings78%
  7. Hardball64%
  8. Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl72%
  9. The Breadwinner79%
  10. Hellion58%
  11. Brothers73%
  12. Night Always Comes60%
  13. The Bikeriders66%
  14. Poor Cow63%
  15. Trafficked67%
  16. Bring Them Down67%
  17. Black Beauty79%
  18. Fort Bliss64%
  19. Broke70%
  20. Mask72%

Status
Released

Original Language
Persian

Budget
$0.00

Revenue
$0.00

Keywords