Goodbye Solo

For the follow-up to his critically lauded social-realist dramas MAN PUSH CART and CHOP SHOP, director Ramin Bahrani leaves New York City behind and returns to his home town of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Though the scenery has changed, Bahranis tender, humane vision remains. As with those previous films, Bahrani focuses his story on a cultural outsider, the type of person who usually gets relegated to a movie's background. Solo (Souleymane Sy Savane) is a Senegalese taxi driver whose latest fare, a weathered and despondent old Southerner named William (Red West), offers him big money to drive to a mountain peak, where it appears that William is going to commit suicide. A good-natured and kind-spirited man, Solo is disturbed by this revelation. Out of a deep sense of purpose, he embarks on a mission to save William. Working with his main creative collaborator, cinematographer Michael Simmonds, Bahrani casts a luminous spell over his deceptively simple tale. The director, who also edits his films, keeps the story moving forward while allowing it to breathe. He also extracts flawless, fully lived-in performances from Savane and West. Though Bahranis previous films have been deservedly praised, he has vaulted himself into the top ranks of American indie directors with GOODBYE SOLO. This masterfully realized story of life and death is destined to stand as one of 2009s best.

Cast:

4 stars out of 4 -- "Bahrani is the new great American director. He never steps wrong, In GOODBYE SOLO, he begins with a situation that might unfold in a dozen different ways and makes of it something original and profound." -- Roger Ebert , (Chicago Sun-Times)

"The story told in GOODBYE SOLO, Ramin Bahrani's wonderful third feature, is moving and mysterious, and you may find yourself pondering its implications for a long time after the film's simple and haunting final images have faded." -- A. O. Scott , (New York Times)

"[T]he director, Ramin Bahrani, slowly weaves the two men's lives together by stitching in little pockets of mystery....A playful, elusive movie..." -- Grade: B+ -- Owen Gleiberman , (Entertainment Weekly)

3 stars out of 5 -- "[With] a humanistic story and an engaging message of tolerance....[A] beautiful, perfectly constructed drama..." -- Steve Ramos , (Box Office)

GOODBYE SOLO is a deceptive film. Its style is spare, rigorous, almost anti-dramatic, but it deals thoughtfully with some of the most complex elements of the human equation. -- Kenneth Turan , (Los Angeles Times)

"What distinguishes GOODBYE SOLO, beyond Savane's larger-than-life personality bumping up against West's intractable curmudgeon, is the continued particularity of Bahrani's work." -- Scott Tobias , (A.V. Club)

"Like all of Bahrani's films, GOODBYE SOLO is visually simple and stunning....But more important, GOODBYE SOLO is driven by deep feeling and sensitivity." , (Washington Post)

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