The Cycle of Love Review: The 6,000-Mile Bicycle Ride That Is Also the Year’s Most Joyful Documentary

Some love stories sound too good to be true. A penniless artist from India meets a Swedish tourist, falls in love in a single afternoon, and then cycles across three continents to find her. It sounds like a screenplay. But The Cycle of Love is a documentary, and the story is true.

Directed by Orlando von Einsiedel, the British filmmaker who won an Oscar for The White Helmets and earned a nomination for Virunga, the film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in August 2025. It opened in limited US theaters on August 28, 2026, through Variance Films, and reached UK cinemas on September 18 through Dogwoof. It’s also listed on Apple TV. Priyanka Chopra Jonas is among the producers. It runs 98 minutes and is rated PG-13.

The Story: Ten Rupees and a Portrait

In 1977, PK Mahanandia was a 23-year-old street artist in Delhi. He came from a poor family in the Dalit community, India’s so-called untouchable caste, and he made his living drawing portraits of passersby. That year, a young Swedish tourist named Lotta von Schedvin stopped at his portrait stand. The sitting took about ten minutes and cost ten rupees. By the end, they were in love.

There was something else. A fortune teller had once told PK that in his twenties, he would meet a foreigner, that she would be a Taurus, and that they would marry. When Lotta turned out to match the prophecy, PK took it as a sign. But Lotta’s trip was ending, and she had to return to Sweden. Most people would have let her go. PK didn’t.

He picked up a handful of paintbrushes and a second-hand bicycle and set off on a journey of about 6,000 miles, across continents, to Borås, Sweden. The film follows that extraordinary trip. To avoid spoilers, we won’t say what he faced on the road or how it ended. It’s enough to say that the journey was long, difficult, and far stranger than you’d expect.

How a Documentary Brings a 1977 Journey to Life

The challenge is obvious. PK’s ride happened nearly half a century ago, and there’s almost no footage of it. The filmmakers had only a small number of grainy photographs to work with. So von Einsiedel decided to rebuild the journey himself.

The film mixes present-day interviews with recreated scenes, in which Chirag Lobo plays young PK and Mina Dale plays young Lotta. These aren’t dry reenactments. They have the look and feel of a story being told with love, and they give the film an adventurous, cinematic quality. Cinematographer Franklin Dow shoots the landscapes with warmth, and Patrick Jonsson’s music adds energy and emotion. Katie Bryer’s editing keeps everything moving.

The real PK and Lotta are also on screen, and that’s where the film becomes something special. They’re older now, but PK still has an enormous, joyful personality. He can burst into laughter and tears in the same sentence, and his memory of the trip is vivid and funny. Lotta adds her own perspective to the story. Their children, Emelie and Karl Mahanandia von Schedvin, are among the film’s producers, which tells you how personal this project is for the family.

More Than a Love Story

It would be easy to call The Cycle of Love a romance and stop there. But the film is about more than a couple. It’s also about a man who was told by society that his place in the world was fixed, and who decided to prove otherwise. PK’s caste shaped what people expected of him, and he refused to accept those limits. His journey is a love story, but it’s also a story about self-belief and the courage to risk everything on a dream.

That gives the film its emotional power. It’s easy to root for PK, because his determination seems so impossible, and because his optimism never fades. The documentary doesn’t ignore the hardships he faced, but it never lets them define him. It’s a film about hope, and its sincerity is hard to resist.

The film has been praised for its audience appeal too. It won the Audience Award at the Atlántida Mallorca Film Fest, and its sweet, uplifting tone is its calling card.

Where It Might Not Work for Everyone

The film’s biggest strength, its warmth, may also be a limitation for some viewers. It’s a feel-good story, and it focuses more on joy than on conflict. Viewers who prefer hard-hitting, investigative documentaries may find it too gentle.

The recreated scenes also won’t suit everyone. Some viewers prefer documentaries that rely only on archival footage, and the film’s mix of real interviews and staged scenes may feel less pure. And because the journey happened so long ago, a few details inevitably depend on PK’s memory.

The Verdict

The Cycle of Love is a heartwarming, funny, and surprisingly moving documentary about one of the most unlikely love stories ever told. PK Mahanandia is a wonderful subject, Orlando von Einsiedel’s storytelling is inventive and generous, and the film’s message about courage and self-belief lingers long after the credits. If you need something uplifting, this is the one to see.

Rating: 4.5/5

Watch the Trailer

Quick Facts

• Title: The Cycle of Love
• Director: Orlando von Einsiedel
• Genre: Documentary, Romance, Adventure
• Runtime: 1h 38m (98 minutes)
• Rated: PG-13
• Languages: English, Hindi
• Featuring: PK Mahanandia, Lotta von Schedvin, Chirag Lobo (young PK), Mina Dale (young Lotta)
• Producers: Chloe Leland, Harri Grace, Emelie Mahanandia von Schedvin, Karl Mahanandia von Schedvin, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and others
• Cinematographer: Franklin Dow
• Editor: Katie Bryer
• Music: Patrick Jonsson
• Awards: Audience Award, Atlántida Mallorca Film Fest
• Premiere: Telluride Film Festival, August 29, 2025
• Distributors: Variance Films (US), Dogwoof (UK and international)
• Release dates: US, August 28, 2026. UK, September 18, 2026.

Where to Watch

The Cycle of Love is playing in limited US theaters through Variance Films, and it’s listed on Apple TV. In the UK, it’s in cinemas through Dogwoof. Check local listings for showtimes.

Have you seen “The Cycle of Love”? Share your thoughts in the comments below.