It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Beautiful, moving film.

A lot of fun.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

After hearing such high praise about this director, and seeing that this film had become a critical and festival darling, I had high hopes. Actually, since most "festival darlings" wind up being some of the most tedious films any person will be forced to sit through, let's say I was more impressed with what many well-respected critics had to say. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed. It's more baffling to me than anything, to see such laurels heaped on a film that truly has so little to offer. The characters are 1-dimensional and there's virtually no story to unravel. But even the documentary-like nature of the film never really explores any topic in much detail, but instead provides only a surface look at the characters' lives. People are introduced and then disappear, and watching the non-professional cast of actors attempting to create conflict in poorly improvised scenes, is often painful to watch. After our protagonist finds a lost kitten, it is exploited for all it's inherent cuteness, but even that "subplot" ends with no apparent point to be made other than life is often difficult. Not to mention the fact that what happens in the final 10 minutes of the film is so absurdly improbable (akin to someone picking up an elephant and running down the street with it in the blink of an eye), that it almost makes one want to groan aloud. Many of the reviews wax on about how "real" Man Push Cart is. True enough, although, the fact that this film expects us to believe that a gorgeous woman (conveniently single and working at a newsstand), would practically throw herself at a lowly, schlubby, shy pushcart operator with zero confidence, in a way that would make Judd Apatow proud, might create some conflict in our suspension of disbelief. But even for the parts of the film that are quite real, real doesn't always mean interesting. If you want to see a compelling film about a lonely man, rent Taxi Driver. If story isn't quite your thing, then you might want to consider a Kiarostami film. Kiarostami is a master of telling tiny little "real" stories which one cannot pull themselves away from, or soon forget.

Man Push Cart (2006) ****One of the brightest stars who's shine is hidden behind the influx of barely inspired and boldly formulaic audience friendly indie pleasers, Ramin Bahrani made his big leap with this 2006 near masterpiece. Man Push Cart is a stripped bare expose of the life of a push cart worker, trying to get by so that he can continue to try and get by. Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi) was a former rockstar in his native Pakistan, but left that life behind to come to America with his wife and child. His family did not approve of him, and so they left their lives behind. In New York, he pulls his heavy cart through the predawn traffic, not noticed by the passing cars unless he is in their way. He has his regular customers with whom he chats, and has his vendor friends, with whom he barters and trades porno dvds for cigarettes or whatever else. He makes friends with a well off fellow Pakistani, Mohammad, who invites him to paint his apartment if he needs extra cash. Once there, Mohammad realizes why he has found Ahmad's face so familiar. He wants to set him up with another friend, who he says is connected in the industry. One day, his contact at a paper stand is replaced by a young Spanish woman. Ahmad is clearly attracted to her, and she to him. This is okay, as Ahmad confides in Mohammad that his wife died soon after their arrival. His son now lives with his mother's parents while Ahmad tries to save up the money to get an apartment for them. His cart is his lifeblood. His cart, for now, is his life.This interferes with his personal life. His wife's death has left him scarred, and although we're not told, we infer that Noemi and Mohammad are the only friends he has had since coming to this strange new city. Mohammad gets him a job working in a club, one which he leaves midshift so he can get back to his cart, to push and pull it into the downtown core. His inability to communicate his feelings to Noemi leaves her open to Mohammad, who also likes her. It's nonetheless clear that she wants Ahmad. But his life has no space for love right now - only pushing and pulling, selling and bartering. Trying to get by, so he can continue to get by.Bahrani, an Iranian raised in America, directs the film as minimally as possible. Man Push Cart is Bicycle Thieves redux - not that it is as good a film as that great one, of course, but simply in the same vein. It's akin to a French Minimalist Italian Neorealist made in America by an Iranian starring a Pakistani. The camera moves and cuts only when it must. Bahrani relies on the quiet resonance of his story and the muted power of his actors to tell it. As much a lover of bold direction as I am, understated direction is often the wisest, and even the boldest, choice a filmmaker can take.Man Push Cart is a slow and bittersweet film - often more bitter than sweet. But in the end, instead of being broken, Ahmad finds a spark of hope in his surroundings. He will have taken a tumble, but he has the perseverance to struggle on, not for his own sake, but for the sake of a better day to come. Then he will have time to love, to laugh. But for now, he will keep trying to get by today, so he can try to get by tomorrow, and someday get where he needs to be

This is not a first film for Iranian writer/director Ramin Bahrani. It is actually his third, but it is obviously a labor of love, not something made to generate profit.Like Julia Stiles film, Raving, this is a slice of life in New York. A Pakistani Rock Star moves to the city for his wife and child, but tragedy strikes and the mother-in-law-from-hell keeps him apart from his son.He spends his time - from 3 am until after dark, loading, pushing and selling. The trip through the cavern in The Descent was not nearly as terrifying as seeing Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi) pull his coffee and bagel cart through New York traffic. He certainly has more nerve that I have! One only hopes for good things to happen for Ahmad, but, alas, that is not to be. Loss and drudgery is the story of his life, and this film allows you to tag along and share that burden.With the enchanting Leticia Dolera, Bahrani's labor of love is truly worthy.

Reaching out with meaning far beyond its melancholy central story, this is an excellent film. It is, in simple terms, the tale of Ahmed, former rock star from Pakistan who finds himself, by way of domestic misfortune, pushing his coffee-and-donuts cart through the streets of NYC to make a living. Opportunities to escape his lonely lot come his way. Will he/won't he take them? But it's more than that: it's a story of the gulf between rich and poor; of the sensitive and the brutish; the pecking order of immigrants in the so-called Melting Pot; and of course the position in particular of Muslim immigrants post 9/11. In the end, Ahmed's cart becomes a symbol of the burdens that we give ourselves, that we don't know how to let go of, even when the chance comes to do so. It's beautifully photographed, superbly acted. A true independent.