Man Push Cart

Early every morning, Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi), a Pakistani immigrant, struggles to drag his heavy cart along the streets of New York to a corner in Midtown Manhattan, where he sells coffee and bagels. He encounters a wealthy Pakistani businessman who offers him some work and financial assistance, promising also to introduce him to the music scene. He also spends time with a young Spanish woman who works in a nearby newspaper and magazine kiosk. He is haunted by the death of his wife and is unable to spend time with his son. Just as it appears that he is making some progress in improving his life, an event occurs that pushes him back down again.

Atif Aslam's three songs were included in the film. "Aadat" is the main track while portions of the songs "Ehsaas" and "Yakeen" are also introduced in the film. All are taken from the album Jal Pari.

The film was met with critical acclaim; some critics have compared the film to the style and films of the Italian Neorealism and French New Wave movements. The film has a score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 54 reviews with the consensus being that "This compassionate portrait of a New York City street vendor is as beautiful as it is melancholy."{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/man_push_cart/|title=Man Push Cart|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=March 26, 2014}}

Film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film four out of four, and wrote that the film "embodies the very soul of Italian neo-realism" and went on to say "Free of contrived melodrama and phony suspense, it ennobles the hard work by which its hero earns his daily bread" and "Bahrani, as director, not only stays out of the way of the simplicity of his story, but relies on it; less is more, and with restraint he finds a grimy eloquence."{{cite web|title=Man Push Cart|url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/man-push-cart-2006|publisher=Roger Ebert.com|accessdate=26 March 2014}}

Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune liked the film and wrote a positive review saying "Ahmad's concerns — his sadness and his striving — become universal. Though his early-morning riser's world is gray and threaded with melancholy, it becomes, in the end, a place we recognize."{{cite web|title=Movie Review: 'Man Push Cart'|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/mmx-061020-movies-review-cart,0,2705733.story|publisher=Chicago Tribune|accessdate=26 March 2014}}

Dana Stevens of Slate wrote in her review "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."{{cite journal|title=Sob Stories: The quiet beauty of Man Push Cart|journal=Slate |date=7 September 2006 |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2006/09/sob_stories.html|publisher=Slate Magazine|accessdate=26 March 2014|last1=Stevens |first1=Dana }} This was also iterated by Jack Matthews of the New York Daily News who said "You'll think of him the next time you pass a cart."{{cite web|title=Man push Cart: Top Critics|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/man_push_cart/reviews/?type=top_critics|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=26 March 2014}}

Johnathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader in his positive review said "it's a potent mood piece, and its portrait of urban loneliness has some of the intensity of Taxi Driver without the violence."{{cite web|title=Man Push Cart| date=20 October 2006 |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/man-push-cart/Film?oid=1067779|publisher=Chicago Reader|accessdate=26 March 2014}}

Time Out magazine wrote of the film saying, "What begins as a delineation of a man in a landscape becomes a study in sadness and stoicism, disorientation and even desperation, then finally, a delicate, rewarding and cliché-free enquiry into the complex heart of the lone immigrant experience."{{cite web|title=Man Push Cart (15)|url=http://www.timeout.com/london/film/man-push-cart|publisher=Time Out London|accessdate=26 March 2014}}

Stephen Holden of The New York Times liked the film and gave it a positive review saying "Man Push Cart is an exemplary work of independent filmmaking carried out on a shoestring. Mr. Razvi’s convincing performance is a muted portrait of desolation bordering on despair."{{cite news|title=Sisyphus, Making It Work on the Streets of New York| work=The New York Times | date=8 September 2006 |url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/09/08/movies/08cart.html?ref=movies|accessdate=26 March 2014| last1=Holden | first1=Stephen }}

Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote "It's by no means an exaggeration to describe this quietly powerful film as Bressonian."

The film had its world premiere at the 2005 Venice Film Festival. It entered the 2006 Sundance Film Festival[https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/sundance-10-push-comes-to-screen Sundance #10: Push comes to screen|Festivals & Awards|Roger Ebert] and won the Fipresci Critic's Award at the London Film Festival. It was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards[https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000349/2008 2007 Spirit Awards at IMDb][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5WYA0TIwec 23rd Spirit Awards ceremony hosted by Rainn Wilson - full show (2008) | Film Independent on YouTube] and was on Roger Ebert's list of the top 10 movies of 2006.

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|id=0464105|title=Man Push Cart}}
• [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20061019%2FREVIEWS%2F610190302%2F1023&AID1=%2F20061019%2FREVIEWS%2F610190302%2F1023&AID2= Roger Ebert Review] 4 stars, 20 October 2006
• [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/7292-man-push-cart-a-melancholy-pull Man Push Cart: A Melancholy Pull] an essay by Bilge Ebiri at the Criterion Collection

{{Ramin Bahrani}}

Category:2005 films

Category:2000s avant-garde and experimental films

Category:American avant-garde and experimental films

Category:Films shot in New York City

Category:Films about Pakistani Americans

Category:Films directed by Ramin Bahrani

Category:American independent films

Category:2005 independent films

Category:2005 directorial debut films

Category:2000s English-language films

Category:2000s American films

Category:English-language independent films