Goodbye Solo (2008)

Directed by Ramin Bahrani

Starring Souleymane Sy Savane and Red West (Rated R)

4 stars (out of 4)

Goodbye Solo is nothing short of a masterpiece. Bahrani's other features were great, but this one is my favorite. This director is a master of character studies, which is especially apparent when you have two great characters such as William and Solo. It shows true poise as a director to take two such diverse characters and have them harmonize on screen.

The authenticity that Bahrani achieves is flawless. Living in Virginia, Ive been to the locations where this film was set, and they were presented accurately and beautifully.

Its amazing to me that actors I've never heard of and have probably never had a leading role can give such all-time performances. The top-notch acting by this pair of unsung heroes is yet another testament to the brilliance of Ramin Bahrani.


I highly recommend this film and all of Bahrani's work. He has a terrific short film called Plastic Bag about the issue of shopping bags that have built up in the ocean. Its done from the perspective of a sentient plastic bag with Werner Herzog as the voice of said bag. I would say that his other features Man Push Cart and Chop Shop take a little more patience to watch simply because of a slower pacing. Solo's magnetic personality makes this film easy to watch. This is one of the classiest films I've ever experienced. Great storytelling like this is why motion picture was created.

On a side note, this movie should not be rated R. This is a perfect example of why the movie industry has such little faith in MPAA ratings. Goodbye Solo is a heartwarming film with a few dirty words. A violent film with gruesome death scenes only earns a PG-13 as long as there are no curse words or nudity. So thanks to the MPAA for enforcing their misguided moral compass on the rest of the U.S.