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Review #327 of 365
Movie Review of Man Push Cart(2006) [NR] 87 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $11.25
Where Viewed: Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 4 December 2006
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Film's Official Website
DVD Release Date: 9 October 2007
Directed by: Ramin Bahrani (Strangers)
Written by: Ramin Bahrani (Strangers)
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Ahmad Razvi (debut) • Leticia Dolera ("Serrano, Los") • Charles Daniel Sandoval (The War Within)
The stark, cold reality of a former life lost to tragedy and time phases not Pakastani immigrant Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi) as he determinedly arises each morning at 3:00 a.m. to prepare his coffee / bagel push cart for morning customers alongside many thousands of fellow immigrants. Their tireless efforts each morning prepares one of the world's largest cities for the millions of people who will require it to be ticking like a finely-tuned instrument. Ahmad carries his propane tank to the cart garage, loads his supplies, and pushes the cart to his assigned and tightly controlled location. Meticulously he places each pastry on the shelf, each tea bag in the cup, and the coffee filter in the basket for the grounds. Customers begin to arrive just before the break of dawn, each with a pleasant smile or request for their usual. He greets them and treats them with the same regard he has for his spotless push cart, one he hopes to purchase outright soon to increase his profits in his pursuit of sufficient funds to afford a decent place to live for himself and his recently estranged young son now living with relatives. He refuses to let the humdrum, routine, seemingly mundane existence of operating the pushcart and selling bootleg pornographic DVDs get to him nor deter him from his goal. Scenes reveal the depth of his love and adoration for his son as well as his determination; yet, likewise, other scenes paint a bleak and dreary potential for accomplishing his goal no matter how hard he works. At last, a beautiful young woman from Barcelona named Noemi (Leticia Dolera) appears one afternoon in the newsstand formerly staffed by one of his regular porn disc customers. His disappointment over the loss of a sale is quickly replaced by an increasing attraction to the girl. On nearly the same day, he also encounters a wealthy Pakistani immigrant named Mohammad (Charles Daniel Sandoval) who's 'made it' in America who strikes up a pleasant conversation with him that eventually yields odd household jobs for him in the gentleman's apartment. Mohammad, upon seeing him again in his apartment, suddenly recognizes him as a former rock star in Pakistan, the "Bono of Lahore" as he refers to him later. At this revelation, he feels terrible about hiring him to paint his apartment, but Ahmad, typically reserved and tentative about his life, assures him that it's okay because he really needs the money. Mohammad also meets Noemi and develops a similar attraction to her leading to some conflicts Ahmad dispatches by conceding in his mind to Mohammad. His first and most important task must be to get the apartment for his son without distractions. As he approaches completion of the apartment-painting job, he asks for an advance on the money owed so that he can pay the final $500 toward ownership of his cart. Mohammad agrees and the cart is finally Ahmad's the next day.
" a portrait of real, cloudy life as it can end up, no matter how many silver linings one tries to find."
Despite these mild signs of some progress, Ahmad's life is still filled with gloomy moments such as the accidental death of a baby kitten he rescues from the street when he overfeeds it milk and an unsavory experience where he quits the job of cover charge collector at a night club for a friend of Mohammad's that's supposed to be a connection that will get him back into the music scene because he just finds the job too demeaning. We learn along the way that his wife is dead, and her relatives who now possess his son blame him. These incidents, unfortunately, foreshadow even greater losses that ultimately establish a pattern of utter futility that is his existence. The film ends as crisply as it begins without resolution or progress apparent in Ahmad's life.
Man Push Cart, rare among films today, that explores in a simple way the struggle of one man in an unusual walk of life as he attempts to right his life's course with all things going against him while facing seemingly insurmountable or desperate odds. The glimmers of hope seem there only to compound the disappointments and the agony of defeat. Finally, when it ends without growth of character or positive prospects for a brighter future, it stings and reminds the fortunate of two things: fortune is precarious and gratefulness is divine. Ahmad Razvi delivers a moving performance enveloped by his character. He is heartwarming in his stoic charming way giving dignity and grace to a character that could be filled with rage and bitterness toward his life and situation. Leticia Dolera brings a sense of beauty to the grim world of Ahmad, while Charles Daniel Sandoval appears a bit wooden and suspicious in his portrayal of Mohammad. His character is of dubious motives throughout, yet his absorbance into the role seems finite. Director Ramin Bahrani has captured a side of the underbelly of New York rarely seen as well as painted a story that is both endearing and gut-wrenching but neither to the extreme. This is one of the downfalls of the film. As much as everyone works, especially Mr. Razvi to ensure our endurance with Ahmad through his story, we can only care about him and his predicament so far. We never learn the events that led to his situation, the true cause of the death of his wife, etc. While we can surmise the disappointment associated with his fall from fame, we have no real appreciation for the talent that may now be lost. Finally, the tragedy that befalls his is superficial in the end and worsened when his solution is too callous. So, while the film is patient and beautiful on one hand, it is solemn and gloomy on the other. It finishes as a portrait of real, cloudy life as it can end up, no matter how many silver linings one tries to find.
Man Push Cart, rare among films today, that explores in a simple way the struggle of one man in an unusual walk of life as he attempts to right his life's course with all things going against him while facing seemingly insurmountable or desperate odds. The glimmers of hope seem there only to compound the disappointments and the agony of defeat. Finally, when it ends without growth of character or positive prospects for a brighter future, it stings and reminds the fortunate of two things: fortune is precarious and gratefulness is divine. Ahmad Razvi delivers a moving performance enveloped by his character. He is heartwarming in his stoic charming way giving dignity and grace to a character that could be filled with rage and bitterness toward his life and situation. Leticia Dolera brings a sense of beauty to the grim world of Ahmad, while Charles Daniel Sandoval appears a bit wooden and suspicious in his portrayal of Mohammad. His character is of dubious motives throughout, yet his absorbance into the role seems finite. Director Ramin Bahrani has captured a side of the underbelly of New York rarely seen as well as painted a story that is both endearing and gut-wrenching but neither to the extreme. This is one of the downfalls of the film. As much as everyone works, especially Mr. Razvi to ensure our endurance with Ahmad through his story, we can only care about him and his predicament so far. We never learn the events that led to his situation, the true cause of the death of his wife, etc. While we can surmise the disappointment associated with his fall from fame, we have no real appreciation for the talent that may now be lost. Finally, the tragedy that befalls his is superficial in the end and worsened when his solution is too callous. So, while the film is patient and beautiful on one hand, it is solemn and gloomy on the other. It finishes as a portrait of real, cloudy life as it can end up, no matter how many silver linings one tries to find.
Other Projects Featuring Man Push Cart (2006)
Cast Members
Leticia Dolera
• Charles Daniel Sandoval Writer / Director
Ramin Bahrani
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