GoodBye Solo June 9, 2009
Posted by ultimateserge in 2009, Elvis Presley, Film, Movie, Ramin Bahrani, Red West, Roger Ebert, Souléymane Sy Savané, Spiritual, Taste of Cherry.add a comment
Format: Spiritual
Rating:
Directed by: Ramin Bahrani
Starring:
Release date(s): Spring 2009-USA
This is one of those few rare suicide films with heart. Ramin Bahrani, the director of Man Push Cart and Chop Shop, turns in another spectacular tale of pain and agony.
Goodbye solo may be a film about suicide yet much different than the conventional Hollywood version because it is true to the meaning of suicide. Too often have we seen movies in which a protagonist saves his friend or family member through the beauties of life; goodbye solo is not that film? It acknowledges that suicide is not an overnight phenomenon of the mind. It is decisive and determined decision that is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to overturn by others.
William is an old man determined to put an end to his life atop a peak. Nothing seems to stop his vision until he meets Solo, an immigrant cab driver who is only trying to provide whatever is best for his family.
The chemistry between these two actors is quite extraordinary. William at first not to be deserving of Solo’s empathetic kindness, yet we see that he does establish a friendship even though he is hesitant of expressing it vocally. Souléymane Sy Savané’s portrayal of Solo is somehow the male version of Sally Hawkin’s portrayal of Holly in Happy-go-Lucky. If there was any fairness in the world, Solo would receive at least a Golden Globe for his role.
Amazingly Goodbye Solo never becomes depressing and somber. It never jumps away from its heartwarming tone mostly due to Souléymane Sy Savané’s acting chops. As the story unfolded I was rather surprised that I actually didn’t care how it turned out in the end.
Amazingly Goodbye Solo never becomes depressing and somber. It never jumps away from its heartwarming tone mostly due to Souléymane Sy Savané’s acting chops. As the story unfolded I was rather surprised that I actually didn’t care how it turned out in the end.
The film is so faithfully to itself that the audience is not even fearful that Solo may end his life.Due to the fact that Bahrani is half-Iranian, it seems inevitable to associate this with abbas Kiarostami’s the taste of Cherry; a bleak movie about suicide that offers similar melancholy throughout. This may not have the overly-sweet attraction of films like “The Soloist”; it is a tale that has not been put on film like this before.
