Man Push Cart, directed by Ramin Bahrani, can be considered a genuine depiction of modern immigrant life and the struggles these people have to face on a daily basis while living on the bottom heap of society trying to make an honest living. However, the film is not solely based about the futility of immigrant life. Ahmad is not constrained by socioeconomic forces but is constrained by the forces of his own grief.
Man Push Cart is the story of Ahmad, played by Ahmad Razvi, a Pakistani immigrant living in New York City as a pushcart street vendor. Every morning before dawn, Ahmad begins his day pulling his heavy cart across busy city streets and setting up the cart with coffee and bagels for breakfast. The movie takes us throughout his daily routine, which includes seeing all of his regulars stop by and the conversations they have and finally him packing up his cart after a long morning shift. As the film continues, we begin to get a glimpse of what Ahmad’s life is like outside of the cart. We discover that he was once a popular musician in Pakistan and had emigrated to American to follow the woman he loved along with their son. We learn that his wife had died, however there is no indication as to how. Also, Ahmad never discusses his career as a famous musician, his marriage or the relationship with his son and demonstrates a very passive aggressive behavior towards his friends and others around him.
The overall feel of this film is very dark and desolate however I think it is important to note that in a film like this is strictly pragmatic. The film is meant to be simple, from the visual aspects to Razvi’s acting, it never strives for effect. In this case, less is more and this film’s story is simple yet moving and eloquent. Out of all the movies we had seen in class is by far my personal favorite.