There are so many stories to be told about the people of New York City, including all the little people who are struggling to eke out an existence in a place where the gap between those who have it all and those who have very little is gigantic. Ramin Bahrani has made an unforgettable film about a former rock star from Lahore who makes his living in Manhattan selling coffee, doughnuts, and bagels from a push cart. The inspiration for this riveting movie is Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus about a man whose eternal fate is to push a rock up a hill only to have it roll back down again. The philosophical insights come at the end when Camus writes: "The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart."
At 3:00 AM, Pakistani immigrant Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi) is already at work stocking his pushcart, which he then has to pull it by hand through the Manhattan streets with buses and cabs all around him. He once had a glorious future back in Lahore with a hit CD, but all that has vanished and seems like nothing more than a dream. His wife is dead and in-laws are raising his young son. They are reluctant to let Ahmad back in the boy's life. His dream is to make enough money so his son can live with him. Bravely he tries to weather the thousands of little humiliations and indignities which come his way from those who purchase coffee and donuts from him to the physical strain of commuting to Brooklyn and having to sell bootleg porn DVDs on the side.
Amidst these regular difficulties and frustrations of his work, three new developments take place. Mohammad (Charles Daniel Sandoval), a wealthy Pakistani playboy with a flashy apartment, recognizes him as a former rock star; he gives him a job painting and doing odd jobs around his place. Ahmad then encounters Noemi (Leticia Dolera), a pretty young Spanish woman working with her uncle at a nearby newsstand; they take a shine to each other. The final breakthrough comes when Ahmad finds a stray kitten on the street; the animal, vulnerable just like him, helps assuage his loneliness.
Man Push Cart offers an authentic glimpse into the constricted life of this Pakistani immigrant and the challenges he faces trying to keep his soul alive in a hostile and alien urban environment.
