Bicycleran (1987)

English title: The Cyclist.

Synopsis: Nasim is an Afghan immigrant in Iran. He has no means to pay for his sick wife's hospital expenses, so he agrees to perform an endurance show for a greedy manager: he will ride his bicycle non-stop for seven consecutive days.

Appraisal [spoilers]: I don't know whether it's my fault or this film's, but several plot points remain obscure to me, for instance, when Nasim's son is told to offer his father money for quitting the race, I could not understand whether Nasim tells him about the offer -- first he is prevented to approach his father and later he manages to do so, but we never see him talking to him about it. There is also a feeble subplot about a political conspiracy, its most implausible moment being when Nasim receives a phone call accusing him of being a spy. The film is often caricatural, for instance the recurring scene of her mother having difficulty to breathe and trying to reach for the oxygen mask. It also has some badly directed scenes, for instance when the kids hide under the hospital bed and the doctor arrives; he staggers his way unto the bed and then clumsily drops a jar on the floor, which appears to imply he is drunk, yet the way he walks resembles less a drunken man's stagger than a physically disabled person's. There is also a truck who is recruiting Afghan workers, and near the ending we see it again but this time the workers don't seem to flock to it; I don't understand what exactly has happened. The social critique in this film is acerb; in one grotesque scene, juvenile delinquents who have been brought in to watch the show are urged to learn that this man's honesty and perseverance are much preferrable to a life of crimes.

Rating: 31