Goodbye Solo (15)
- Consumer Advice: Contains strong language
- Run time: 1 hour 31 mins
- Genre: Drama
- Release date: 9th October 2009
- Starring: Souleymane Savane, Red West, Diana Granco Galindo
- Directed by: Ramin Bahrani
- Distributor: Axiom Films
Plot Synopsis
Souléymane, AKA Solo, (Souléymane Sy Savané), a Senegalese taxi driver in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is hired by William (Red West), a stoic 70-year-old, to drive him in two weeks time, on October 20th, to Blowing Rock, the peak of a jagged mountain. Solo comes to understand William's plan, and makes one of his own—to befriend the stubborn 70-year-old and dissuade before the two weeks are up.
He brings William with him on taxi rides; they visit drug dealers and bars, play pool, and flirt with barmaids. Solo even introduces William to his pregnant Mexican wife Quiera (Carmen Leyva) and his 9-year-old stepdaughter, smart and independent Alex (Diana Franco Galindo) with whom William immediately forms a bond. Ultimately, Solo must leave Quiera and Alex and move into William's hotel room in an attempt to convince him to stay. Though William tries to keep him at arms length, Solo persuades him to act as his study partner for his flight attendant test, a dream of his to help provide a better life for his family.
Yet, William keeps a secret from his past to himself. Then, he closes his bank account and gives away the last of his possessions. Solo, crushed, realizes that William has not changed his mind and confronts him. William violently throws him out of their hotel. No longer has William’s driver, Solo lost everything. That's when Solo realizes that to truly be a selfless friend to William; he must do the opposite of what he had planned: he must be the one to take his friend to the place he really wants to go.
And so, on October 20th, Solo drives William to the mountaintop. With them comes Alex, Solo's last hope to show William a different path. There on Blowing Rock, high above the brilliant autumn colors, high above even the clouds, where the wind is powerful enough to blow a man up into the sky, the drama reaches its climax.