GoodbyeSolo Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Goodbye Solo -- which comes out on Lionsgate DVD on August 25 -- may seem like a fairly simple, lightweight indie movie, one of those quirky movies about a mismatched friendship. Hollywood loves movies about uptight misfits who need to be opened up and drawn out of their shell, and it loves movies about the loony, loopy oddballs who perform this service. At first glance, Goodbye Solo could have been just another forgettable formula entry. But under the gentle, wise, subtle direction of Ramin Bahrani, it becomes something special, a genuine sleeper. It may be the best DVD you rent this summer. (It will include a commentary track by Bahrani and cinematographer Michael Simmonds.)

In the film, Solo (Souleymane Sy Savane, in a terrific film debut) comes from Senegal and lives in North Carolina, drives a cab, is married to a Mexican woman (Carmen Leyva), and is expecting his first child. He dreams of becoming a flight attendant and constantly studies his manual. He also has a whip-smart stepdaughter Alex (Diana Franco Galindo) who likes to spend time with him. Solo is like somebody you might know and wish to be more like; he has lots of friends and seems to trade in favors more often than money. (His wife, however, sees him as dreamy and impractical.)

Read more and watch the exclusive clip after the jump ...

And now: the Indie Spotlight. In which you are alerted to the smaller, under-the-radar films opening in limited release this weekend. They usually start in New York and Los Angeles, but be patient. They'll turn up at your local art house or on Netflix sooner or later.

Here's what opens outside the multiplexes today:

• Goodbye Solo (pictured), from Iranian-American wunderkind Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart), is about a young Senegalese taxi driver in North Carolina who befriends a cranky old coot. It has drawn universal acclaim -- literally, as 100% of the reviews at Rotten Tomatoes so far are positive. Cinematical's Kim Voynar reviewed it at Toronto last year and called it "a level of filmmaking that inspires without overwhelming, impresses without overreaching." Playing in NYC and Chicago.

• Spinning into Butter is a drama about race relations and political correctness on a college campus. Starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Beau Bridges, and Miranda Richardson, it's based on an acclaimed play but isn't getting much praise as a movie: only 27% of critics at Rotten Tomatoes have liked it. Playing in New York, D.C., and Cambridge, Mass.

• American Swing is a documentary about Plato's Retreat, a famous New York sex club of the 1970s and '80s, back before AIDS came along and spoiled all the fun of casual unprotected sex with multiple anonymous partners. The reviews so far are about evenly mixed, with four in favor and six against at Rotten Tomatoes. Even those who liked it seem to acknowledge it's not terribly deep, though the subject matter might be inherently interesting to some. Playing at Quad Cinema in New York City.

We have new trailers for your viewing pleasure, all for films set to play at SXSW next month in Austin, Texas.

Know Your Mushrooms. Documentarian Ron Mann previously made Go Further, Grass, and Comic Book Confidential; now he turns his probing gaze to "a hunt for the wild mushroom and the deeper cultural experiences attached to the mysterious fungi." Featuring a "neo-psychedelic soundtrack" by the Flaming Lips, animation, and archival footage, the doc promises a "longer, stronger trip," but don't worry: its running time is only 73 minutes. In that spirit, the teaser trailer, embedded above, is only 45 seconds long.

Goodbye Solo. 'A cab driver picks up a routine fare, only to find his life turned upside down when the man he picks up asks him to take him to a remote mountaintop location, where he plans to jump to his death.' When it played at Toronto, Kim Voynar described it as "a thoughtful, compelling film," which sounds like what we've come to expect from director Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart, Chop Shop). Goodbye Solo has been playing the festival circuit since last fall; the trailer and four clips are available at the official site. [Via /Film]

Died Young, Stayed Pretty. Offering "a candid look at the underground poster culture in North America," Died Young, Stayed Pretty asks searching questions: How does an octopus get 'played out'? Are rock posters really the 'purest form of art that our culture has'? Eileen Yaghoobian spent four years making her first feature-length doc, which will have its US Premiere at the fest. You can buy all six of the film's posters at the official site.

I've posted one of them after the jump, where you'll also find the NSFW trailer.

CINEMATICAL'S 2008 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW

TIFF 2008 is coming up fast; now that the full schedule's been announced, we thought we'd give you a preview of the films we're most excited about catching at this year's fest. With over 300 films to choose from, TIFF has something for everyone, but there's so much to choose from, it can be hard to decide what you want to see.

Cinematical will be at Toronto from start to finish, and you'll be able to read all our coverage on our TIFF hub. Meanwhile, to aid you in your own TIFF planning, here are the ten films we're looking forward to most. To get started, just click on any of the images below to find out more about that film ...

Special thanks to the stellar folks who run the unofficial TIFF guide, TOFilmFest.ca, who once again bring you the best-organized guide to this massive festival ...

TITLE: Goodbye Solo
DIRECTED BY: Ramin Bahrani
STARS: Souleymane Sy Savane, Red West, Diana Franco Galindo, Lane 'Roc' Williams

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: William, an elderly man (West), hires Solo (Savane), a charming taxi driver, to drive him in two weeks to a mountaintop so he can jump to his death. Solo befriends William, and decides to try to stop him from ending his life.

WHY WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT: Bahrani is one of the most exciting young directors working in indpendent film. His film Man Push Cart, played numerous fests and was picked by Roger Ebert as one of the films for his Overlooked Film Festival in 2005, and his 2007 film, Chop Shop, also played well on the fest circuit and was one of the best indie films of that year. With Goodbye Solo, Bahrani works once again with cinematographer Michael Simmonds, who did fantastic work on Bahrani's previous two films. This one is a must-see for indie film lovers at TIFF.

Back to the TIFF Preview page ...