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, Bahrani’s 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 Bahrani’s 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 2009’s best.