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Yes, it is a bit of strong stretch to pair Ramin Bahrani's "Man Push Cart" with Werner Herzog's great "Stroszek" but the parallels that do exist are worth examining.  Though "Stroszek" takes place in Germany, New York and then hysterically in Wisconsin, it emits a gritty, scarily real sense of time and setting in each location.  "Man Push Cart" is set entirely in New York, (it's worthy to note that most of its cast speaks in Pakistani language) but it is buried deep within the steamy streets of the city, in the dark warehouses, and even in the vacant, desperate parking lot of a Toys R' Us.  "Cart's" protagonist, the endearing and quiet Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi) pulls and pushes his food and beverage cart through the graveyard hours of the city, toward usual corners and along dangerous traffic lanes.  While observing the quiet opening passages, I was reminded of Bruno S.--the protagonist of "Stroszek"--and his accordian music setup box that he pushed and dragged around the slum apartment complexes of Germany. Here we have in Ahmad, a reincarnation of Bruno's plight toward that elusive dream, albeit here an American dream (and it would eventually be both Bruno's aspiration and crushing demise).

To the audience, Ahmad is a young, apt and capable individual.  What is he doing pushing a cart, and selling coffee?  A lesser film would exploit this concept into some violin-ready tearjerker plot, where Ahmad might be trying to raise money to save some afterschool music program or to pay for his grandmother's emergency surgery.

But there's none of that here.  The story is very real: Ahmad's wife passed away a year earlier.  His in-laws find him incapable of raising his young son.  In the mid 90s, in Pakistan, he enjoyed mild success as a rock singer.  Now he finds himself bumming beer off of strangers and selling cheap porn DVDs to other immigrant workers.  The precise storylines connecting him from point A to point now, could make for an entire other feature, but Director Bahrani is more concerned with studying this man, who is essentially lost at sea.  When we see Ahmad's blank expression while sitting with friends at a karaoke lounge, it is easy to see that Ahmad isn't so much concerned with how he got to where he is, but more importantly, he is trying to figure a way to get out of his situation.  There is the prospect of love but that is soon deserted--much like Bruno's seperation with Eva.  "Cart" is a gem in that it holds a passive view on its subject.  Usually, with 'real life' genre dramas, there's more of a visceral, if not judgemental aesthetic approach to the material.  Here, however, Bahrani miraculously handles Ahmad's story with such a delicate touch, it's as tender as Ahmad's nurturing of his infant kitten.

So when problems arise, even on a small scale, we are riveted.  The life and ardor of Ahmad becomes so materialized and immersed in reality, that there's this fresh, urgent drive fueling the narrative.  It's unfolding at its own will, not that of a formulaic screenplay.

For me, as an avid filmgoer, I really saw Ahmad lost in this sea of New York movie life.  When his cart is thought to be stolen, I was convinced that Brad Renfro and friends stole it, like they did in "Sleepers."  In an earlier scene, when Ahmad trips on the side of traffic while pulling his cart and dodges an angry taxicab, I was certain Travis Bickle ("Taxi Driver") was behind the wheel honking the horn. 

And by the last scene, in that faraway shot, of Ahmad accepting (at least what I think) his misguided dreams, I saw Bruno, sitting next to his frozen turkey, riding the circular ski slope seats, in hopes of being taken away.

But maybe you'll think differently.