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The Cycle of Love

Play trailer 2:14 Poster for The Cycle of Love Now Playing 1h 38m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 9 Reviews 100% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
In 1977, PK, a 23-year-old Delhi street artist from a poor, 'untouchable' family, picked up a handful of paintbrushes and a second-hand bicycle and set off on a 6000-mile cross-continent mission -- to find Lotta, the woman who had captured his heart. A love story like no other, THE CYCLE OF LOVE is an inspiring, heart-warming, epic true-life adventure about the search for self-belief and risking everything for what your heart tells you.
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The Cycle of Love

Critics Reviews

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Alice Savile Time Out Sep 3, 2026
4/5
Some viewers might find it too much, too sweet -- but abandon yourself to this nostalgic evocation of a lost era and it's hard not to fall in love. Go to Full Review
Robert Daniels RogerEbert.com Jun 8, 2026
Delicate and heartwarming, Orlando von Einsiedel’s stirring documentary "The Cycle of Love" is the kind of film whose sweet subject transcends time and borders. Go to Full Review
Stephen A. Russell Orion's Shoulder (Substack) 4 days ago
Emotionally anchored by their bashful recollections, alongside luminous recreations in which they’re portrayed by Chirag Lobo and Mina Dale, it’s astonishingly gorgeous. Go to Full Review
Christian Craig In Review Online Aug 29, 2026
Einsiedel’s method edges toward the revelatory, often recalling the cockeyed realities of Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. Go to Full Review
Christopher Campbell Nonfics (Substack) Aug 27, 2026
There is more to The Cycle of Love than the romantic story at its center. It’s a timeless film for that aspect...but it’s also incredibly vital for the turbulent moment we’re currently living through. Go to Full Review
Avi Offer NYC Movie Guru Aug 27, 2026
A genuinely heartwarming, tender and well-edited documentary. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Akhil P @RT21778349 6 hrs ago Fantastic heart warming film! Must watch! See more Grace A @RT47898371 2 days ago I left The Cycle of Love feeling LIGHT — genuinely lighter, softer, and more full of love. PK was a man who did the most for love. Watching his story unfold left me asking myself, "How can I show up with more love for the world?" I truly felt like I was living in their bliss — immersed in the love, laughter, heartbreak, and nostalgia I didn’t even realize I was longing for. And THE ACTORS! Their acting was absolutely incredible. I had the opportunity to interview them, and they were just as cool, kind, and sweet in real life as they were on screen. Getting to meet them made me appreciate their performances even more because you could feel how much heart they put into these characters. The documentary-style filmmaking was incredible, especially learning that the people PK encounters were REAL people. If a movie can make you feel like you were living in someone else’s bliss and then send you back into your own life wanting to love harder, I’d say it did something really special. See more Cleo G @CleoG 4 days ago I'm so glad I managed to catch this - why isn't it in every cinema everywhere? It made me laugh, cry and believe in love again - not just the romantic kind, but for our world as well - this film celebrates the kindness of strangers and the beauty that surrounds us. Just what I needed when the news cycle tells us everyone and everything is bad. Finally, a documentary to counter that narrative! Everyone everywhere needs to see this film. Stunning cinematography, riveting, thought-provoking and somehow escapist at the same time. Incredible performances and an incredible story, but IT'S TRUE! It's brightened up my year. Go see it and then go shout about it. See more Leo R @Leonie123 4 days ago I loved watching Cycle of Love due to its groundbreaking documentary style: re-enacting scenes with real people meeting the actor playing PK Mahanandia on his journey. A brilliant love story - part of what makes the film so romantic is that the adventure is a product of an analogue world without phones or the internet, solely reliant on letters passed hand to hand by other travellers on the trail. The film also sensitively weaves in different political threads: PK's life as an 'untouchable' and love across borders. Throughout, I was reflecting on the difficulty of doing a cycle like that today, the borders you would have to cross that have become deeply unsafe through war, or closed to travellers altogether. He rode through Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran in 1977, at the tail end of the hippie trail, talking his way past border guards by drawing their portraits. You feel so much empathy for PK as you learn of the struggle for recognition, love and dignity. See more Grateful 4 days ago Don’t walk run. This is an extraordinary documentary, beautifully, conceived and filmed. If you don’t know the story better yet! Go with the faith that this will move you deeply if you are a romantic or an adventurer. Get ready to be delighted and nspired See more Patricia A @RT38268478 5 days ago I just saw cycle of Love this evening. What an extraordinary documentary it’s a feast for the heart. If you love, independent films, especially Indian films don’t miss it. See more Read all reviews
The Cycle of Love

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Movie Info

Synopsis In 1977, PK, a 23-year-old Delhi street artist from a poor, 'untouchable' family, picked up a handful of paintbrushes and a second-hand bicycle and set off on a 6000-mile cross-continent mission -- to find Lotta, the woman who had captured his heart. A love story like no other, THE CYCLE OF LOVE is an inspiring, heart-warming, epic true-life adventure about the search for self-belief and risking everything for what your heart tells you.
Director
Orlando von Einsiedel
Producer
Chloe Leland, Harri Grace, Emelie Mahanandia von Schedvin, Karl Mahanandia von Schedvin
Distributor
Variance Films
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 28, 2026, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA)
$14.9K
Runtime
1h 38m
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