Is Bicycle Raan (1989) available online to watch?

Yes. Bicycle Raan streams on K-Time. You can watch it on the web or on your TV and phone without a VPN, with no geo-blocking applied.

Koja mitoonam filme Bicycle Raan ro bebinam?

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Who directed Bicycle Raan and is it a classic Iranian film?

Bicycle Raan was directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf and released in 1989. It is regarded as part of the significant body of Iranian social cinema that emerged in the late 1980s, holding a 7.2 rating on IMDb.

Does Bicycle Raan have English subtitles or Persian subtitles?

Bicycle Raan plays in its original Persian-language audio on K-Time. Check the player options at the time of viewing for available subtitle tracks.

Bicycle Raan

Name: Bicycle Raan
Genre: Drama
Released: 1989
Duration: 95 min
Cast: Mahshid Afsharzadeh, Firouz Kiani, Samira Makhmalbaf, Mohammadreza Maleki, Esmail Soltanian

Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Cast: Mahshid Afsharzadeh, Firouz Kiani, Samira Makhmalbaf, Mohammadreza Maleki, Esmail Soltanian

Bicycle Raan is a 1989 Iranian drama film directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, following an Afghan immigrant laborer in Iran who enters a grueling public endurance contest — riding a bicycle nonstop for seven days — to raise money for his gravely ill wife's medical treatment.

What is Bicycle Raan about?

Nasim, an Afghan migrant worker in Iran, earns his living digging wells by the day, but the wages fall far short of what his wife's serious illness demands. A small-time promoter offers him a desperate way out: ride a bicycle without stopping for an entire week while ticket-buying spectators watch. The promoter stages the event as a spectacle of hope, drawing in frail and elderly onlookers who are urged to find inspiration in the rider's stamina. Nasim's young son rides alongside to pass him food. Local authorities grow suspicious — could this unusual public gathering be a cover for something subversive? And those who wagered money against Nasim's success have every reason to see him fail. The film follows the long, exhausting days and cold nights as Nasim fights fatigue, doubt, and hostility to reach an uncertain finish.

Cast & crew

Director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, one of the central figures of Iranian cinema, brings his socially engaged style to this portrait of migrant struggle. Mahshid Afsharzadeh and Firouz Kiani anchor the human stakes of the story. Samira Makhmalbaf — the director's daughter, later a celebrated filmmaker in her own right — appears in the cast alongside Mohammadreza Maleki, Esmail Soltanian, and Moharram Zaynalzadeh.

Context & significance

Released in 1989, Bicycle Raan arrived during a period of significant output from Makhmalbaf, whose films frequently examined poverty, labor, and the lives of those on the margins of Iranian society. The film's focus on an Afghan immigrant worker gives it an uncommon perspective within Iranian cinema of its era, portraying a community that was economically vital yet largely invisible in mainstream culture. For diaspora viewers, the film offers both a document of a particular social reality and a study in human endurance told through spare, observational filmmaking. Its premise — a man cycling for seven days in public view — carries an almost parable-like quality that resonates across cultures and generations.

Where & how to watch

Bicycle Raan is available on K-Time. The film plays in its original Persian-language audio. Watch on the web or on your TV and phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, and you can cancel anytime.