Man Push Cart (2006)
92%RT Audience Score: 90%
Awards & Nominations: 8 wins & 9 nominations
Man Push Cart, a neo-realist masterpiece by Ramin Bahrani, is a slow-burn stunner that captures the bitter flavor of Ahmad’s life with close observation and conviction. The film defies Hollywood conventions and instead ennobles the hard work by which its hero earns his daily bread, free of contrived melodrama and phony suspense. Michael Simmond’s cinematography is wonderfully true to the moods of a city that never sleeps and seldom nods at the hard work going on before it. Ahmad’s concerns, his sadness, and his striving become universal, and his early-morning riser’s world, though gray and threaded with melancholy, becomes a place we recognize. Man Push Cart is a meditation on self and perceived personal value, perpetually heartbreaking as each scene relays some new hope against Ahmad’s despair-ridden reality. It’s a modern classic that deserves to be seen and appreciated by all cinephiles.
Man Push Cart is a slow-burn stunner that captures the bitter flavor of Ahmad’s life. Shot in three weeks, the film does a fine job of bringing us into a world that many of us see every day but rarely stop to consider. Ahmad’s struggles become universal, and we can’t help but root for him as he strives to make a better life for himself. The film is a meditation on self and perceived personal value, perpetually heartbreaking as each scene relays some new hope against Ahmad’s despair-ridden reality. Overall, it’s a modern classic that’s worth watching for anyone who appreciates neorealist cinema.
Production Company(ies)
Columbia Pictures,
Distributor
Films Philos
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2006
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 26m
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Language(s):English, Urdu
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 8, 2006 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 16, 2007
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Ahmad Razvi, Leticia Dolera, Charles Daniel Sandoval, Ali Reza, Farooq “Duke” Muhammad, Panicker Upendran, directed by Ramin Bahrani, written by Ramin Bahrani, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Marc Savlov, Peter Hartlaub, Lisa Kennedy, Robert Denerstein, Roger Ebert, Michael Wilmington, Matt Brunson, James Kendrick, Norman Wilner, Douglas Davidson, Peter Canavese, Ahmad Razvi as Ahmad, Leticia Dolera as Noemi, Charles Daniel Sandoval as Mohammad, Ali Reza as Manish, Farooq “Duke” Muhammad as Duke, Panicker Upendran as Noori, Films Philos, MPAA rating, Pakistani-born, street vendor, bagels, coffee, Manhattan, bleak, rock star, married, child, wife dead, in-laws, businessman, chance encounter, compassionate portrait, beautiful, melancholy
Worldwide gross: $55,903
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $82,438
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 3,042
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 8,990
US/Canada gross: $36,608
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $53,984
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,745
US/Canada opening weekend: $13,694
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $20,194
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,509
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Leticia Dolera – Noemi
Charles Daniel Sandoval – Mohammad
Ali Reza – Manish
Farooq “Duke” Muhammad – Duke
Panicker Upendran – Noori
Director(s)
Ramin Bahrani
Writer(s)
Ramin Bahrani
Producer(s)
Ramin Bahrani
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
8 wins & 9 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (54) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (48) | Rotten (6)
A slow-burn stunner, where nothing much of consequence happens, except life itself.
January 4, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/5
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
The makers of Man Push Cart seem so dedicated to making a film that defies Hollywood conventions that the finished product lacks enough entertainment value to justify price of admission.
December 8, 2006 | Rating: 2/4
Peter Hartlaub
San Francisco Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Michael Simmond’s cinematography, especially in scenes of Ahmad muscling his way amid evening traffic and early-morning delivery trucks, is wonderfully true to the moods of a city that never sleeps and seldom nods at the hard work going on before it.
December 1, 2006 | Rating: 2.5/4
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post
TOP CRITIC
Shot in three weeks, Man Push Cart does a fine job of capturing the bitter flavor of Ahmad’s life.
December 1, 2006 | Rating: B
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
TOP CRITIC
Free of contrived melodrama and phony suspense, it ennobles the hard work by which its hero earns his daily bread.
October 20, 2006 | Rating: 4/4
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
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.
October 19, 2006 | Rating: 3/4
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
The Italian neorealism of the 1940s is reconfigured by Iranian-American writer-director Ramin Bahrani.
March 12, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
a film in the neorealist vein, one of close observation and conviction that brings us into a world that many of those who live in larger cities see every day-right under their eyes-but probably rarely if ever stop to consider.
March 8, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
[A] modern classic…
February 27, 2021
Norman Wilner
NOW Toronto
… the whole of Man Push Cart is a meditation on self and perceived personal value; perpetually heartbreaking as each scene relays some new hope against Ahmad’s despair-ridden reality.
February 22, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
Douglas Davidson
Elements of Madness
The one that started it all for Ramin Bahrani and is emblematic of his neo-realist aesthetic. (Blu-ray Review)
February 18, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Peter Canavese
Celluloid Dreams
One of the greatest film experiences you’re likely to have this holiday season arrives this week very quietly, as if walking into Bay Area theatres on the paws of a cat.
May 19, 2020
David Lamble
Bay Area Reporter…
Plot
A Pakistani-born street vendor in New York City, Ahmad, struggles to make a living selling bagels and coffee, but a chance encounter with a businessman may change his fortune for better or worse in the drama film “Man Push Cart.”
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Ramin Bahrani, the writer and director of Man Push Cart, is known for his neo-realist aesthetic and compassionate portrayals of working-class characters.
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