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It has taken me far too long to come around to the work of Ramin Bahrani. Ever since his MAN PUSH CART was released in 2005, he has been a favorite of critics. Inspired by the Iranian film TASTE OF CHERRY, this drama is the best film of 2009.

Solo (Souleymane Sy Savane) is a Senegalese immigrant who drives a cab in North Carolina. One night he picks up William (Red West, COOKIE’S FORTUNE) who promises him $1,000 if he will take him to the remote mountain Blowing Rock in 10 days. Solo is an inquisitive fellow who quickly surmises that William plans to kill himself. The perpetually positive cabbie makes it his mission to convince the old man not to end his life. He does so with simple kindness. He takes William to the movies and even finagles him into staying at his house with his wife Quiera (Carmen Leyva) and stepdaughter Alex (Diana Franco Galindo).
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Check Out the Trailer

Oakland-native, writer/director Cary Fukunaga spent two years riding trains in Central America and interviewing gang members to bring authenticity to his feature film debut. And what an impression this debut makes. Thrilling and even grand at times, this look at both immigration and gang violence brings an emotional element to the human toll of both.

Sayra (Paulina Gaitan, TRADE) is headed from Honduras to New Jersey with her father and uncle. Her father Horacio (Gerardo Taracena, APOCALYPTO) was recently deported from the U.S. and is desperate to get back to his wife and other children. They ride atop freight trains all the way to Mexico. The dangerous journey includes dodging immigration officers, enduring the elements and evading thieves.
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