Goodbye Solo (2008)

Solo (Souleymane Sy Savane), is a taxi driver. He is also a Senegalese man living in Winston-Salem, N.C., working and charming his way toward a share of the American dream. He is the heart and soul of this movie. His demeanor is effortlessly warm and disarmingly friendly. He wears down resistance or suspicion with an incandescent smile and affectionate teasing: every male customer or colleague is “big dog”. His magnetism is juxtaposed by one of his customers, William, who is an old man on the brink of suicide. A man who feels that he has nothing to live for or look forward too--this picture is perfect as a reflection of the difference between the two, as well as a window into what is charming about this movie. That Solo comes from a culture where you put uyour nose into other people's business, that you try to help, that you intervene, you do not just let people go off and be their self-destructive selves. And he is no angel, our Solo. He has some regular customers who are drug dealers, he parties, he drinks and drives--but on the other hand he is an impeccable father to Alex, the daughter of his significant other. At no point do you feel like he is not her father--although the colors of their skin make it clear that this is not the case, he is patient and warm with her, tender in a fatherly way, and he puts everything aside when she needs him. He is a complicated and appealing man, who makes you want to go to Senegal and see if there are more men like him, where does this wonderful sense of family and responsibility come from and where can we get more of it. A window into the immigrant African psyche, one that will leave you wanting to know more about this culture and its people.