Goodbye Solo (2008)

Goodbye Solo: Directed by Ramin Bahrani. With Souleymane Sy Savane, Red West, Diana Franco Galindo, Lane ‘Roc’ Williams. Two men form an unlikely friendship that will change both of their lives forever.

“Two men are in a taxicab. The passenger is a scowling, angry, misanthropic old man. The cabbie is a smiling, exuberant African immigrant. In a few lines of dialogue we learn that the misanthrope wants to be taken to Blowing Rock, North Carolina on the 20th of the month. u0026quot;Why?u0026quot; jokes the cabbie, u0026quot;You gonna jump off?u0026quot; No reply. The cabbieu0026#39;s glowing smile disappears.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe poetry of that opening scene is only rivaled by its ability to set a powerful air of suspense that carries through the entire 91-minute film all the way until the last minute. And even though there arenu0026#39;t any flashy car chases, shootouts, steamy sex scenes or fantastical plot twists, u0026quot;Goodbye Solou0026quot; grabs your full attention from start to finish.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe theme, beautifully set in the opening scene u0026amp; fleshed out as the story progresses, centers around the duality of the American dream and the American nightmare. The cabbie, relatively new to the USA, loves life and the endless opportunities life presents. He has a job and a family, neither of which are perfect, but they make him happy nonetheless. And he genuinely loves people. The old man is bitter, alone, presumably due to a tragic family meltdown, and he just wants to be left alone. Just as the cabbie is exploring new opportunities, the old man spends his days tying up loose ends: selling his home, closing out his bank accounts, etc. Over the course of 2 weeks or so, we witness the interaction–the philosophical struggle–between these two men, and the suspense of the outcome is maintained until the filmu0026#39;s final scene.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe acting is absolutely 1st class with both men, particularly by the main character u0026quot;Solou0026quot; played by Souléymane Sy Savane in his feature debut. His way of portraying raw optimism and hope is truly worthy of the description Roger Ebert used: u0026quot;a force of natureu0026quot;. At the same time, itu0026#39;s not over-the-top unbelievable like Pollyanna or some childrenu0026#39;s fantasy character. He plays an intelligent man fully aware of the struggles in life, yet he has faith in his own determination. And isnu0026#39;t that the key to happiness for all of us? The old man character is the antithesis and equally believable. If youu0026#39;ve ever suffered a horrible tragedy you know that sometimes nothing can cut through. Nothing. And thatu0026#39;s what we see here: a man so resolute in his cynicism that youu0026#39;d give up on him in 10 seconds.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd so, we see the cinematic version of the age-old physics puzzle: what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie takes a quiet, measured pace with plenty of room to breathe. There are gorgeous shots of nature as well as equally haunting views of an empty downtown Winston-Salem at night. Funny, Iu0026#39;ve driven through that city scores of times on I-95 without giving it a second thought. But next time I think Iu0026#39;ll take a small detour and visit. I also need to see this place called Blowing Rock to find out if itu0026#39;s real. The view from up there looks like something Count Dracula would see looking out over the misty mountains of Transylvania.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere arenu0026#39;t many popular films to compare this to, but Iu0026#39;d say if you liked the British film u0026quot;Happy Go-Luckyu0026quot; or the indie film u0026quot;This Is Martin Bonneru0026quot; or the Japanese u0026quot;Shiki-Jitsuu0026quot; (Ritual) or even Kurosawau0026#39;s cinematic masterpiece u0026quot;Ikiruu0026quot; (To Live), then donu0026#39;t hesitate to see u0026quot;Goodbye Solou0026quot;.”