Man Push Cart [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Ramin Bahrani Ramin Bahrani

Overview

A former Pakistani rock star attempts to adjust to life in New York City while simultaneously making friends and selling coffee from a push cart on the streets of Manhattan in Iranian-American director Ramin Bahrani poignant, character-driven drama. By day Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi) tends to hurried Manhattan-ites by keeping their bellies full and ensuring that they are adequately caffeinated, and by night he supplements his income by selling bootleg porn DVDs. Though Ahmad hopes to one day raise enough money to purchase a place of his own and reunite with his estranged son, times are tough in the city and the hard-working immigrant soon strikes up a tentative friendship with fellow countryman Mohammed (Charles Daniel Sandoval); a generous but sometimes condescending soul who readily takes the fledgling New Yorker under his knowing wing while offering additional work decorating his apartment. Spanish immigrant Noemi (Leticia Dolera) works at a newsstand near Ahmad's cart, and also finds herself warming to the haunted former rock-star's timid ways. As Ahmad, Mohammed, and Noemi gradually begin to socialize together, a tragedy in Ahmad's past soon prompts the struggling New York newcomer to question the true nature of his current relationships.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/23/2021
UPC:	0715515255318
Original Release:	2005
Rating:	NR
Source:	Criterion Collection
Language:	English
Time:	1:27:00
Sales rank:	17,921

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Ahmad Razvi	Ahmad,Ahmad's Son,Pakistani Driver
Leticia Dolera	Noemi
Ali Reza	Manish
Charles Daniel	Mohammad
Farooq Muhammad	Duke
Panicker Upendran	Noori
Arun Lal	Father-in-Law
Razia Mujahid	Mother-in-Law
Altaf Houssein	Altaf
Bill Lewis	Final Customer
Abdelrahma Abdelaziz	Friend at Bar
Ronak Ricky Patel	Newsstand Worker
Shaana Diya	Club Worker
Bhavana Toor	Ahmad's Wife
Adrian Quezada	Ahmad's Baby
Atif Muhammad Mirza	Atif the Stab Victim
Rao Hui	Verterinarian
Issam Abdelkader	Push Cart Garage Owner
Peyman Yazdanian	Composer
Qamar Bukhari	Guy In Karaoke
Asim Mujahid	Guy In Karaoke
Mousa Kraish	Guy In Karaoke
Mariam Sologashvili	Customer
Thomas Russo	Customer
Marcus Bonnée	Customer
Paul Ross	Customer
Darryl Meadows	Customer
Linda K. Alexis	Customer
Damita Spencer	Customer
Katherine Boyle	Customer
David Boyle	Customer
Edward Harper	Customer
Ana Brzova	Girl Outside Club
Katharyn Yew	Karaoke Waitress
Cynthia Martín	Girl In Limo
Sybil Prince	Girl In Limo
Nicholas Elliot	Falafel Customer

Technical Credits

Ramin Bahrani

Ramin Bahrani	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
Bedford T. Bentley	Producer
Pradip Ghosh	Producer
Vinay Jayaram	Executive Producer
Scott Booth	Executive Producer
Steve Sabba	Executive Producer
Lisa Muskat	Executive Producer
Sanjay Motwani	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

The title of Ramin Bahrani's first feature gives a good preview of the neo-neorealist approach that would soon become synonymous with his work. Using the simple, non-grammatical speech patterns you might ascribe to a caveman, the title Man Push Cart cuts through to the basic, non-sexy quality of most working people's lives, which consist primarily of Sisyhpean tasks like pushing a breakfast cart between three distinct locations. Bahrani's intention is to peer into these lives without judgment, pity or intervention, an artistic goal that endures in such follow-up features as Chop Shop and Goodbye Solo. The Iranian-American director also has the prototypical immigrant experience on his mind; his main character is Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi), a Pakistani rock singer who achieved some fame in his home country, but whose professional goals have shifted radically since arriving in New York. Bahrani's preference for minimalism makes the mundane details of Ahmad's life fascinating; even the morning light reflecting off his cart's metal paneling has its own particular beauty. But this minimalism fails Bahrani in terms of fleshing out his characters. The idea of exposition for exposition's sake is entirely foreign to him, but the problem is that he goes halfway -- he makes his characters accessible enough that we understand their basic attitudes and personalities, but leaves out important pieces of their personal histories, as though giving an exact explanation of what's ailing them might be heavy-handed, might make the film resemble some piece of melodrama that's already in our collective consciousness. This is especially true of a crucial trauma in Ahmad's past. The director's approach deemphasizes the value of catharsis, and therefore leaves the ending of Man Push Cart feeling incomplete. Viewed not as an ending to this particular story, but rather, a beginning to Bahrani's career, it becomes a lot more exciting.

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