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Man Push Cart (2006)
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Reviews Counted:46
Fresh:40
Rotten:6
Average Rating:6.9/10
Consensus: This compassionate portrait of a New York City street vendor is as beautiful as it is melancholy.
Theatrical Release:Sep 8, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: It's 3:00 a.m. in Manhattan, the hour of rumbling garbage trucks, glaring headlights, and the bluish florescent glow of the all-night delis. Trudging alongside the honking traffic, Ahmad drags a... It's 3:00 a.m. in Manhattan, the hour of rumbling garbage trucks, glaring headlights, and the bluish florescent glow of the all-night delis. Trudging alongside the honking traffic, Ahmad drags a coffee and bagel cart to a busy midtown corner. Hours later, he is swiftly and efficiently selling steaming cups of "coffee regular" to rushing New Yorkers. In the afternoons, he battles traffic to return the cart to a warehouse, occasionally peddling bootleg DVDs for extra cash along the way. A solitary, quiet loner, Ahmad strikes up slightly awkward friendships with Noemi, a young Spanish woman who works at a newsstand, and wealthy, jovial Mohammad, who is shocked when he realizes Ahmad was a famous singer in Pakistan. Through Ahmad's relationships with both his new friends, and his estranged family, we come to understand that he is haunted by a tragedy in his past. A beautifully crafted character study that captures the textures of a very specific New York experience, Ramin Bahrani's Man Push Cart is a subtle, insightful portrait of a man struggling with issues of identity, self-worth, and the harsh realities of finding a place to belong in a vast, often-unfriendly American metropolis. -- © Sundance Film Festival [More]
Starring: Leticia Dolera, Charles Daniel Sandoval, Ahmad Razvi, Ali Reza
Starring: Leticia Dolera, Charles Daniel Sandoval, Ahmad Razvi, Ali Reza
Director: Ramin Bahrani
Director: Ramin Bahrani
Studio: Films Philos
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Reviews for Man Push Cart
Unfortunately, the characters are so tediously one dimensional, poorly scripted and amateurishly acted, that the most sympathetic character is a neglected kitten.
Man Push Cart is that unique, frustrating film that gains brownie points for its immediate, here-and-now ambiance, while losing momentum by prioritizing realism before dramatic force.
A lame attempt at neorealism, hampered by an implausible plotline and warmed over existential motifs.
Like that daily grind, his story of salvation sought and never attained is one of listless, bloodless tedium.
The makers of Man Push Cart seem so dedicated to making a film that defies Hollywood conventions that the finished product lacks enough entertainment value to justify price of admission.
Although the acting isn't so hot from the non-professional bit part players, Ahmad Ravzi - also a non-professional actor and former push cart seller himself - puts in a stoic and solid performance.
The darkly realistic cinematography of Michael Simmonds gives the film a near-documentary style in its depiction of the endless, physically draining work.
Recalling Italian neorealist movies such as The Bicycle Thief, Man Push Cart is a slice of a very sad life.
If one of the things movies are supposed to do is make you look anew at the world around you, you may never see your doughnut vendor in the same way again.
The performances and storyline are pretty perfunctory. But the nocturnal images of Razvi hauling his metallic cart through traffic that barely notices his existence eloquently encapsulate the émigré experience.
Bahrani and his DP Michael Simmonds illuminate the murky beauty -- and hardscrabble economics -- of New York's all-night shadowland.
Man Push Cart is often striking, but Bahrani never quite figures out how to drag this small character study out to feature length.
The slower and minimalist pacing, like many of Man Push Cart’s formal conventions, adds another dimension to the sorrow at the true heart of the film.
An unforgettable portrait of a Pakistani pushcart vendor trying to keep his soul alive on the congested streets of New York City.
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