Man Push Cart (2005)

Every night while the city sleeps, Ahmad, a former rock star in his native Pakistan, drags his heavy cart along the streets of New York. And every morning, he sells coffee and donuts to a city he cannot call his own. One day, the pattern of this harsh existence is broken by a glimmer of hope for a better life.

DVD Extras:
Commentary with director Ramin Bahrani, cinematographer Michael Simmonds, assistant director Nicholas Elliott and actor Ahmad Razvi
Short Films by the director ("Bad Reception" with Lisa Bonet, "Dogs")
Original Theatrical Trailer

Sisyphus in Manhattan

This small film about a Pakistani street vendor in Manhattan packs a big emotional wallop. A quiet man of few words, Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi) seems imprisoned in his little coffee and bagel stand among elegant shops, going home nights to a little apartment in Brooklyn. Pulling the stand each pre-dawn morning cross town from the West Side and then back again at the end of the day, in the relentless flow of noisy traffic, he is (as director Ramin Bahrani points out in the commentary) like Sisyphus of Greek legend - endlessly repeating a heavy labor to keep complete meaninglessness at bay. There are only hints of back story to account for the look of defeat on his face, and only a few moments with a woman who works at a sidewalk newstand nearby that seem to trigger yearning for something new and hopeful in his life. Meanwhile, when he is extended a helping hand by a fellow Pakistani with a high-paying job and enough income for an apartment in town and a house in Westchester County, Ahmad experiences a kind of confusion that only reinforces his isolation.

The camera, editing, and sound are done with all the sensitivity and control of the real cinephiles that the filmmakers seem to be. Shot in what the director calls an "observational" style, the film looks very much like a documentary, images caught on the fly with long lenses and scenes between characters often played out in single takes. Filmed in 30 days in the weeks before Christmas, "Man Push Cart" captures the chill and gloomy mid-day shadows of approaching winter in Manhattan. Much of the footage on the street involves nonactors who didn't know they were being filmed (signing releases only afterwards). Director Bahrani and two of his crew with actor Razvi provide an interesting commentary on the DVD that should be an inspiration to young low-budget filmmakers. Their film shows what dedication, inventiveness, love of the medium, and talent can achieve. June 23, 2008

Sorry, But This Film Was Depressing And Nearly Made Me Slit My Wrists

I can now say that I have officially watched the most boring and depressing film ever imaginable. And it's name is MAN PUSH CART. I say this with utter befuddlement, for this film was nominated in multiple film festival categories and even won a few, and it's been praised as "the most striking American independent movie of the past year" by the New York Times. Roger Ebert even said, "I loved it!" Well I'm going to not-so-humbly disagree with these upper echelon reviewers and show you why.

First is the acting; it's nonexistent. The main actor, Ahmad Razvi, plays Ahmad, a Pakistani immigrant who survives in America by hocking coffee and muffins to the street-walking denizens of New York from his rented vending cart. Unable to afford a car in which to tow it, Ahmad pushes the hefty cart daily to its morning location on New York's busy streets. Why Ahmad does this is initially a mystery, but later the audience comes to understand that he does it as a sort of homage to his recently deceased wife and his equally dead life. Actor Razvi is deadpan in this role and his cyclical work-life is equally morbid. There seems to be no purpose in what he does nor where he'll go once he gets there.

Equally bad is the script of the story. It's nowhere eventuality means little to most viewers since most film watchers are vested in stories that actually have a point. This one's only motive seemed to be how quickly it could depress the audience. The death of Ahmad's wife, Ahmad's life, his distant family, broken or fleeting friendships, and even a dead kitten all make this a very dark and unredeeming independent film.

Usually with indie films of this type you get a few pearls of excitement; perhaps some interesting camera shots, or some unique perspectives on indepth characters. Not so here. Everything is dead or dying. From Ahmad's past to his future, there seems little point in him to continue breathing let alone working the streets of New York. In fact, I felt like I should stop breathing and end my tortuous watching of this film, but decided that I have more to offer life than Ahmad or the makers of this terrible flick.

So I kept breathing ...just barely. May 21, 2008

Marvelous portrait of modern immigrant life

"Man Push Cart" is a very sad movie, though not entirely bleak or depressing. It is the story of Ahmad, a Pakistani man who has immigrated to America and struggles to get ahead while working as a push-cart street vendor. Much of the movie is taken up with long, slow shots of his actual, physical struggle -- Ahmad is renting his cart and doesn't have enough money for a car, so he has to pull the cart across busy New York city streets in the pre-dawn hours, as traffic starts to pick up. Midday, when his coffee and bagels have been sold, he hauls the cart back to the garage, wanders around midtown Manhattan for a while, then takes the subway back to a tiny apart in the outer borroughs, where he briefly sleeps, only to get up at 3:00am and start his daily routine all over again.

The film defies may expectations and cliches... To begin with, Ahmad didn't come to America to "get ahead": as we slowly learn a part of his history, we discover that he was once a popular musician in Pakistan, and that he emigrated here to follow the woman he loved. The story of their marriage and its end is Ahmad's great tragedy, but we are never given the whole story, only glimpses into the past, and the film also never explains Ahmad's reluctance to be a musician again. He never likes talking about it, and when his new acquaintances discover that he was once a famous performer, he simply demurs and avoids discussing it. Others sing in this film, but Ahmad does not. His reluctance talk about himself is explained obliquely -- in one scene, we see him hanging out with some friends, listening impassively as one man trots another in front of a crowd of barflies and insists that he "Tell your story! Tell your story!" For whatever reason, Ahmad doesn't want his life to be reduced to just another story that's told around the bar, as if cataloging his experience would reduce it to nothingness, or wrest control of his own story away from him. He already put himself on display, back in Pakistan, and now, here in America, he chooses to just live his life, not share it with strangers.

Although "Man Push Cart" is a powerful, subtle depictation of the modern immigrant experience, it is also an important commentary on the current climate of "reality"-based media, where average people aspire to be seen on TV, and have their tiniest flaws projected across the landscape of popular culture. Ahmad, who once had actual fame, let go of it for love, and now finding himself at the bottom heap of society, chooses to stay there, anonymous and self-contained. He is not a happy man, but in a strange way, he seems contented.

Apparently his character is being reprised in director Ramin Bahrani's next film, "Chop Shop." Whether more of Ahmad's past will be revealed is uncertain; in some ways, I hope it remains unknown. At any rate, this is a very good film, which you will find engrossing from start to finish. The parts of the story that are unresolved or unknown are actually its greatest strengths, and one of the elements that make this film so distinctive. Highly recommended! (Slipcue film reviews) December 2, 2007

Love or Money

'Man Push Cart' is an absorbing slice-of-life movie. Many accolades have been heaped upon it, but it's availablity has been obscure for so long, which is a real shame. I have to admit that I was suspicious from the previews that it would be one of those "noble" entries one finds that becomes drawn out and tedious. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find how accessible and enjoyable this film really is.

Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi) is a typical immigrant protagonist. Coming from Pakistan, he lives and works in New York City, the quintessential immigrant city: One that's filled with opportunity as well as bewildering urban bustle and stress. Like many with ingenuity, he has his own business. He's a street vendor who sells hot beverages to commuters on a busy city street. The portrait of him and his life unfolds along the way in ways that are engaging and colorful.

Soon we find out that he has come to the one year anniversary of his wife's death, and he has been estranged to his son, Sajjad, whom his inlaws have custody. He is a hard worker, like so many immigrants, and this initiative pays off with one customer who hires him to do some work on an apartment. It is during this liason that we learn that Ahmad was famous previously, but I won't divulge the nature here. However, this new business associate gets him some new business for which he was famous, and from here he meets a lovely Spanish immigrant (Leticia Dolera) who becomes his new love interest.

He does what he can, but he seems to have to choose between love and money, welfare and family along the way. He has a friend named Muhammad (Charles Daniel Sandoval) who checks up on him, and from their conversations we pick up on their lives. Reflecting on making ends meet Ahmad says, "[It] Gets harder for people like you and me...What I need to do, I'll do." What makes 'Man Push Cart' so worthwhile is the intimate view of his struggles and motivations--what makes him tick and the decisions he makes to have a better life.

Complications develop and some of the movie borrows a bit from Italy's classic 'The Bicycle Thief,' but the story is so authentically presented that it feels like a documentary of real people than it does a movie rehash. The direction by Ramin Bahrani is excellent for making us walk in the shoes of Ahmad and feel the struggle of his journey. October 14, 2007

a classic portrait

Over the years, certain films dig in and tell an insightful story that enlightens viewers about an ethnic group or an ethnic experience that in the end turns the film into a classic. Man Push Cart is one of these films.

Telling the story of a Pakistani man who comes to NYC, after being a rock star in his home town, the film centers on what it is like to be a push cart man in a city that still has push carts as a major part of every day life. It's a tough existence, and Man Push Cart details it well while it also portraits the man's personal life and his hopes for a better one as well.

Dramatically well produced, Man Push Cart is not light fare. It's a deep and insightful film that is well worth the view whether you are into NYC life, Pakistani life or the life of the many Push Cart peddlers that work hard day in and day out to survive in a city that does not make it easy.

I highly recommend this film for all who like to 'think'.

October 14, 2007

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