The Cycle of Love
Orlando von Einsiedel’s true-life romance is told with a rare blend of drama and documentary and is superbly cast.
Image courtesy of Dogwoof Releasing.
by MANSEL STIMPSON
The British filmmaker Orlando von Einsiedel is well established having made a number of feature films and even more shorts, but it is only now with The Cycle of Love that I have come across his work. He is known as a documentarian and indeed the new work is described as being a documentary but to my mind that is misleading. This adventurous and remarkably successful film is one that surely breaks new ground. It is, of course, not unusual to have a documentary which incorporates a number of reconstructed scenes featuring actors but The Cycle of Love takes things so much further that it counts as a hybrid. The real-life events with which it deals took place in 1977 and here they unfold as portrayed by two very fine young actors in a narrative which plays as a very effective dramatisation. So much so indeed that it becomes a central feature and gives the film an appeal quite distinct from that which is offered by documentaries. Nevertheless, as told here the story of how these two, PK Mahanandia and Lotta Von Schedvin, came together all those years ago also features present day footage of them inserted at intervals throughout. This is what provides the documentary element and it is substantial enough to play a significant role in the film.
The mixture is a daring one but it succeeds beyond one's expectations. Indeed, I would say that The Cycle of Love is a film exactly suited to what the public need in times such as our own which are so alarming. The story that it tells – one that might seem unbelievable but for the fact that it is true – concerns a journey of six thousand miles undertaken on a bike. Before it starts we see PK as he recalls how his future was predicted early in his life: an astrological prophecy indicated that this Indian youth would marry a woman from far away who was musical and who would own a jungle. In 1975 while living in Delhi and offering to sketch tourists he was impressed by one such visitor, Lotta whose home was at Borås in Sweden. She may not have had a jungle to her name but her family did own forest land and he quickly realised that she was the girl he was destined to marry. Their special rapport was quickly evident and when Lotta had to return to Sweden she assured PK that she would be back in August. However, that failed to happen and it was then that PK lived up to his belief that destiny is everything. He could not afford a ticket to travel to Sweden but could sell enough to buy a bike and thus he set off believing that this match was so crucial to his life that he had no alternative but to do his best to reach Borås in this way.
Since we have both PK and Lotta looking back on all this, it is in effect a foregone conclusion that these two will meet up again successfully but the hazards of PK's journey are sufficient to create tension. In addition, PK's endeavour has the appeal of being a grand romantic gesture by a young man in his early twenties while also giving us views of the numerous countries through which PK passed. They include Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, and Germany. In a clever stroke, the film also finds a way to enrich the material and give it variety by developing another aspect of their story. The journey itself is portrayed in chronological order as one would expect but, in the course of that, the intercuts of PK and Lotta themselves lead to them recalling once again their first days together in Delhi. The early part of the film has shown us their initial meeting but has then quickly moved on to the start of PK's journey and now further scenes of their time in Delhi fill out our knowledge of them and of their bond by showing us how they had spent time together in the days following their first meeting including a trip to PK's village. From time to time we hear the words of letters that passed between them and these become a thread that unites the two sides of the film (sometimes they feature in the enacted scenes and sometimes are reread or referenced in the present).
The Cycle of Love is, of course, genuinely romantic but it is a romance set in the real world and it contains material that is not escapist. It was a key fact in PK's life that he had been born a Dalit, that is to say he was of the caste regarded in India as untouchables. The extent to which such people are made to feel inferior because of the way in which they are viewed has played a strong part in PK's life and one which means that he had to make a special effort to view himself positively. The need to promote change in the treatment of Dalits would become a cause that he would take up later in life. If this concern is very much part of The Cycle of Love so too is the theme of the kindness of strangers. The story of PK's journey involves more than one instance of people who were unknown to him proving willing to give help. Such behaviour is viewed as an outlook to be encouraged and not least when it cuts across borders and unites those of different nationalities.
The mixture of styles attempted here is a risky thing and I had doubts about it when approaching this film. Speaking for myself, I do feel that when documentary footage yields to related enactments there is often a clash because the viewer’s ability to suspend disbelief is challenged when what is real is presented alongside scenes that are patently dramatised. Other viewers may have no trouble with this but it did affect me albeit that this was alleviated by the fact that in this case the casting director has done a superb job. Chirag Benedict Lobo, who plays young PK, and Mina Dale, who plays young Lotta, give exceptional performances and capture the bond between these two so admirably that I found myself overcoming my reservations. Elsewhere there is another example of the mix but one that is less intrusive. The scenes with the two leading players also feature observations by people that PK encounters en route and these are not actors but real-life people whose comments are comparable to those made to PK in 1977. They feel unenforced and work well.
For Orlando von Einsiedel the gamble inherent in making The Cycle of Love has undoubtedly paid off and, with both couples (the real one and the actors playing them) being so engaging, this is a film that will make a very positive impression on people. If PK and Lotta achieve their dream against the odds, why shouldn't we believe that our dreams might be fulfilled too?
Cast: PK Mahanandia, Lotta Von Schedvin, Chirag Benedict Lobo, Mina Dale, Sadhvik Singh, Neeru Kumari.
Dir Orlando von Einsiedel, Pro Harri Grace, Chloe Leland, Emelie Mahanandia Von Schedvin and Karl Mahanandia Von Schedvin, Ph Franklin Dow, Pro Des Sujata Vik Sharma, Ed Katie Bryer, Music Patrick Jonsson, Costumes Sujata Sharma Virk.
Grain Media Productions/Kalabati Pictures/BD4/Tudip Entertainment/AMPL/Artemis Rising Foundation/Purple Pebble Pictures-Dogwoof Releasing.
98 mins. UK/USA/India/Sweden. 2025. US Rel: 28 August 2026. UK Rel: 18 September 2026. Cert. 12A.
