Observant, soulful study of the human condition

'It's a sad and beautiful world," Roberto Benigni says in Jim Jarmusch's '80s indie classic, Down by Law.

And Iranian American filmmaker Ramin Bahrani says it all over again, with wisdom and clarity, in Goodbye Solo.

A quietly soulful study of two very different men - a resilient Senegalese cabbie and a crusty white Southerner with tattoos on his arms and regret in his eyes - Goodbye Solo is set in Winston-Salem, N.C., where the rainfall catches the strip-mall neon, where people pursue their hopes and dreams, live their lives.

Or decide to end a life - which is what William (Red West) is about to do. Alone and 70, with rummy eyes and a terse, tough manner, William calls a taxi and arranges with its driver, Solo (Souléymane Sy Savané), to be picked up again in two weeks' time. William will pay Solo a handy sum to take him to Blowing Rock, a high peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains. A return ride isn't necessary.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what William is planning. But Solo is a kind of genius - funny, gregarious, full of ideas and ambitions, generosity and compassion. He believes that if he befriends William, he can persuade the old man to change his mind.

Bahrani trains the camera on his respective stars as they walk and talk, eat meals, and play pool - determined to find the truth in what they do. West, a longtime bodyguard for Elvis Presley (really!), a songwriter, stuntman and occasional actor, has a face that speaks volumes. His portrayal of the broke-down William feels effortless. Savané, a French African making his first appearance onscreen, shows an intelligence and humor - and empathy - that'll grab you.

Solo is by no means a saint, and the relationship with his Mexican American wife (Carmen Leyva) gets messy. Her 9-year-old daughter (Diana Franco Galindo) and Solo have their own bond, and as the film moves along, the little girl's presence adds a layer of emotional resonance.

Bahrani's previous features, Man Push Cart and Chop Shop, took place in New York. Both dealt with the immigrant experience and were shot on location, using mostly nonprofessional actors. There's nothing fancy going on cinematically in these films - they're just the work of a keen, observant eye, catching the details and the everyday dramas, letting the stories unfold.

There's another movie in theaters right now with "Solo" in the title - The Soloist - and the difference between Hollywood's take on the "real world" (homelessness, mental illness) and the New York-based Bahrani's is striking. Each is about strangers crossing paths on a city street, and the chance friendship that changes their lives. But I would say that Goodbye Solo, without ornamentation or manipulation, speaks to the human condition in ways that the big-star studio job of The Soloist can only dream about.EndText