An early masterpiece, The Cyclist telegraphs its deceptively simple premise, then proceeds to unfold ideas in waves like the concentric circles in which the hero finds himself riding. Nasim, an Afghan worker in Iran whose pittance wages digging wells cannot pay his dying wife's hospital bills, takes on a mad wager: he will ride a bicycle for seven days and nights nonstop, round and round in a small plaza. A carnival atmosphere ensues as bets are taken, palms read, tricks played; the hapless fellow even becomes a political pawn. Greed attaches to desperate poverty like a leech: this is nascent capitalism. It seems clear that if Nasim wins the bet, that is all he will win. This cynicism is played opposite the touching relationship of Nasim and his son as they wordlessly make their way through the throng, the boy's youthful optimism literally keeping the father alive. An homage to neorealism and The Bicycle Thief, The Cyclist also shows how unique a stylist Makhmalbaf is: the surrealism of poverty is played out in this film's mysterious, frenzied beauty.