by Luanne Paul King

Goodbye Solo

This is the third film by talented neo-realist Ramin Bahrani, an Iranian-American who co-wrote and directed this story of a charismatic Senegalese cab driver named Solo (Souléymane Sy Savané). I love this film and saw it twice.

In the opening scene, William (Red West), a taciturn coot in his 70s, is Solo’s passenger. As they drive through Winston-Salem, N.C., William startles Solo by offering him $1,000 to drive him to the Blowing Rock mountains on October 20. William doesn’t say why he is willing to pay that much for a two-hour ride. However, Solo knows: Blowing Rock is a suicide site. Jokingly, he asks, “Are you planning on killing yourself?” William says nothing. He pays Solo $100 as a deposit for the trip.

Respecting the Senegalese tradition of caring for and protecting the elderly, Solo asks the taxi dispatcher to call him whenever William phones for a cab. Solo has a pregnant Mexican wife Quiera (Carmen Leyva) and a perky pre-teen stepdaughter, Alex (Diana Franco Galindo). Solo is studying to become a flight attendant and Quiera angrily disapproves. He leaves the temporary spat and talks William into sharing his motel room. Solo rehearses the test questions for flight attendant certification and William helps. The two go out to play pool and have a few drinks — too many for William, who passes out. Solo takes him to his own home. In the morning, Alex and William  become friends and play together.

On the day William goes to Blowing Rock, Solo takes Alex, too. Once there, Alex is unaware that William is disappearing into the woods. She innocently devours an ice cream cone before peering into a telescope. Solo climbs up to the Blowing Rock promontory and looks skyward, where the wind blows upward toward the heavens. What does he see?

91 minutes. Not rated.

Alambrista: The Director’s Cut

In 1977 Robert M. Young wrote, directed and photographed this amazing film, using a hand-held camera. The lead character, Roberto, is movingly played by Domingo Ambriz. Roberto is an undocumented migrant farm worker who works long hours each day to send money to his Mexican family.

When new funding from the Ford Foundation materialized, Young did a  “director’s cut” which contains new scenes and music. Also, on the new disc, we can see commentaries from Young and others, including Davíd Carrasco, a historian of religion; Nicholas J. Cull, a professor of public diplomacy and a film historian; and Albert Camarillo, a professor of history at Stanford University.

Teresa Carrillo, of San Francisco State University’s College of Ethnic Studies, says in the DVD, “I think not much is changed since Alambrista was filmed over 30 years ago.” In the book of essays accompanying the DVD, she writes, “Every day new obstacles spring up in the well-worn paths for going north, making the journey to jobs in the U.S. more precarious. Being a ‘sending’ country, Mexico has a viewpoint on migration that is diametrically opposed to U.S. views.” I agree. This film is a timely wake-up call to stop the disruption of Mexican families.

110 minutes. Not rated. Available on DVD.