Man Push Cart

Man Push Cart

Directed by: Ramin Bahrani

Starring: Ahmad Ravzi

Genre: Independent

Run Time: 87 min.

Release Date: September 2006

On The Web: Official Site

Teaser: Movie Trailer

Reviewed by Byron Merritt

I can now say that I have officially watched the most boring and depressing film ever imaginable. And it’s name is MAN PUSH CART. I say this with utter befuddlement, for this film was nominated in multiple film festival categories and even won a few, and it’s been praised as “the most striking American independent movie of the past year” by the New York Times. Roger Ebert even said, “I loved it!” Well I’m going to not-so-humbly disagree with these upper echelon reviewers and show you why.

First is the acting; it’s nonexistent. The main actor, Ahmad Razvi, plays Ahmad, a Pakistani immigrant who survives in America by hocking coffee and muffins to the street-walking denizens of New York from his rented vending cart. Unable to afford a car in which to tow it, Ahmad pushes the hefty cart daily to its morning location on New York’s busy streets. Why Ahmad does this is initially a mystery, but later the audience comes to understand that he does it as a sort of homage to his recently deceased wife and his equally dead life. Actor Razvi is deadpan in this role and his cyclical work-life is equally morbid. There seems to be no purpose in what he does nor where he’ll go once he gets there.

Equally bad is the script of the story. It’s nowhere eventuality means little to most viewers since most film watchers are vested in stories that actually have a point. This one’s only motive seemed to be how quickly it could depress the audience. The death of Ahmad’s wife, Ahmad’s life, his distant family, broken or fleeting friendships, and even a dead kitten all make this a very dark and unredeeming independent film.

Usually with indie films of this type you get a few pearls of excitement; perhaps some interesting camera shots, or some unique perspectives on indepth characters. Not so here. Everything is dead or dying. From Ahmad’s past to his future, there seems little point in him to continue breathing let alone working the streets of New York. In fact, I felt like I should stop breathing and end my tortuous watching of this film, but decided that I have more to offer life than Ahmad or the makers of this terrible flick.

So I kept breathing ...just barely.

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Image from Man Push Cart

Ahmad pushes his food cart down a busy New York street long before sunrise