The Cyclist


The Cyclist is a 1987 Iranian sports-drama film written and directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, starring Moharram Zaynalzadeh as Abu Ahmed.

Plot

Nasim, a poor Afghan refugee in Pakistan, gives a demonstration in his town's square, during which he rides his bicycle without stopping for seven days and seven nights, with the aim of raising money to pay for life-saving surgery for his dying wife. In the end, even after seven days, he continues to pedal endlessly, too fatigued to hear his son's and the crowd's pleas to get off his bicycle. One scholar analyses the film as an allegory which depicts the exploitation that Afghan refugees suffer from in Iran and from which they are unable to escape.

Accolades

In 1991 the film won the best narrative film award in the Hawaii International Film Festival.