There are certain things about urban life that vary from city to city - and one of them is street food. In chicago, we don't really have it in the downtown area, but are starting to see more of it in the neighborhoods (frutas, elotes, mayonesa, etc.) In Paris you'll see the crepes and the chestnuts. And in New York, you can get just about anything. In fact, there is even an annual competition (read about the dosa man who won this year here) for the best of the food vendors.
What you see most often though, are the shiny coffee carts, where you can get among other things, bagels, doughnuts, tea, and of course, coffee in NYC's blue & white greek-font cups. The best parts of Ramin Bahrani's tale of a formerly famous Pakistani pop star struggling to make ends meet in a coffee cart were the quiet moments.
The dialogue and acting at many points was strained and awkward, but the long, silent shots of Ahmad pulling his cart down the street at 3:00 a.m., lighting the gas burners, stacking the bagels - these were beautiful, and worth seeing.
There are many things left out of the story - why he's there, how his wife died, whatever happens with the girl, etc. so don't go into this looking for resolution. But, do enjoy the rare look at one of the people we see every day but don't know the first thing about. 3.5 stars.
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