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Goodbye Solo
User Score
7.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 39 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 39
  3. Negative: 1 out of 39

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  1. FilmJ
    May 4, 2009
    10
    Few films rise above the white noise of the indie film world to actually standout as something remarkable and worth watching. I would make this compulsory viewing for all students in film making 101. No budget. No Stars. Make something wonderful.
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  2. JoshB
    Apr 1, 2009
    8
    It's a "small film" without without big ambitions, but is really a great little piece of character-based storytelling. It's got slow but steady pacing, but I found it very engrossing from the start. Great performances from the two leads.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. RHD
    Apr 13, 2009
    10
    The characters in the third Bahrani film are more nuanced that his previous, very good, efforts. Red West plays a man trying to distance himself from the world and Savane is wonderful, perhaps naive and eventually wise as he attempts to break through West's character's tough exterior. Bahrani doesn't tie up all the loose ends -- that way you still think about the characters days after you've seen the movie. We're still talking about the movie three days later. If you want cotton candy, go see Confessions of a Shopaholic. If you want one of the best character studies in film since Magnolia, go see this movie!… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. Chris
    Apr 13, 2009
    4
    I’m a fan of the director’s previous films, but Goodbye Solo was a thorough disappointment. The film’s central mystery is pretty uninspired, leaving only the characters to pick up the slack. Unfortunately, they too are a band of thin clichés: the vibrant, smooth-talking African, the manic Mexican wife who gripes in a constant shrill, the child wiser than her years, and the crusty, old white guy. We see only what the filmmaker requests that we follow, a trail of unsatisfying breadcrumbs that makes the experience of viewing completely passive: nothing happens in the background, very little is suggested. We know how to feel at every moment. It’s funny – because the film actively tries to do the opposite – but it’s as if the director waged a personal, frame-by-frame war against ambiguity. Goodbye Solo feels tailored to receive a little notoriety. The absence of this tendency made his previous films quite good.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. JimF
    May 7, 2009
    8
    "Goodbye Solo" is reminiscent of the cinema verite of films like "The Bicycle Thief" and "The White Balloon", but the template that Bahrani and his screenwriter use, from Kiorastami's "A Taste of Cherry" , seems in conflict with the natural direction the performers want to take the material, and the use of a plot element in the form of a found notebook near the end intended to explain what the film wisely leaves unsaid, is both contrived and implausible. That said, the performances, particularly the two leads and an engaging young Hispanic girl, are among the most captivating in recent memory, giving the film a charm and humanity that make it well worth seeing.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. anonymous
    Jul 19, 2009
    5
    Honestly one of the most boring movies I have had the misfortune of sitting through in quite some time. There were so many still shots of nothing but air that the temptation to fall asleep was overruled only by the ultimately fruitless hope that something - anything - would happen. The characters were nice enough and well-acted, but it's difficult to maintain an interest in people whose lives are so understated.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. annm
    Jul 31, 2009
    9
    Very human - this is the way I hope people are.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. JayH
    Aug 20, 2009
    5
    Beautifully and lovingly made, excellent cinematography and wonderful and genuine performances, but painfully slow and at times downright boring. I was hoping for another "The Visitor", which is slowly paced but never boring, or like "Frozen River".
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  9. JustinE
    Aug 29, 2009
    5
    I think it's hard to rate this movie... if you are looking for something to reach into your emotions, you could probably say it's good. If you just want to watch a good or entertaining movie, this one fails miserably. A lot of the movie was very good, or had good production values at least, but overall it was pretty boring. And the ending wasn't too definitive either, but it can be assumed what happened.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  10. carlitod
    Sep 3, 2009
    7
    Maybe i expected too much, but this seemed only mildly inspiring and quasi entertaining. it felt like it was trying... I don't know just not enough substance.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  11. SeanK
    Sep 3, 2009
    10
    The best movie of the year. One of the most intelligent, unpretentious, meditative, human, and heartbreaking films to come onto theaters in years.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  12. NickJ
    Sep 10, 2009
    10
    One of the greatest films of this or any decade. I have seen Bahrani's two other films, and think that they are wonderful as well. However, even they are not comparable to Goodbye Solo, which brilliantly explores the theme of overwhelming, unfixable loneliness and the passing of generations in modern day America. A.O. Scott said that this was an "almost perfect film". If any movie has ever come in close contact with perfection, it is this… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  13. FirstianA
    Sep 13, 2009
    4
    I think this film is overrated by the film critics. The story is far from good, no climax, and the ending... so flat, no meaning, I hope any explanation or surprise or even twist in the end but I don't get it. Another so what movie.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  14. EvanS.
    Sep 15, 2009
    9
    We've become so desynthezied by Hollywood schlock that we have no idea that a film can be as soulfood and good as this one.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  15. desmondp.
    Sep 16, 2009
    7
    Did not really work for me. The sitiation is so highly improbable and the lead character mumbles his way throuhout the film so as to be nearly unintelligible.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  16. 301
    Oct 7, 2009
    9
    The palpable melancholy may perturb the average cinema-goer seeking pure thrill. The others will find an ephemeral snapshot of the changing face of America.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  17. swizw
    Oct 31, 2009
    9
    A dark, brooding film. The cinematography is done with an incredible attention to detail as much more is shown than said. Superb movie, and West and Savane have an excellent chemistry (or lack thereof).
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  18. RobT
    Nov 23, 2009
    4
    This movie was slow and had no action. Good actors, good character development but as exciting as watching grass grow. Overrated.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  19. BillR
    Dec 27, 2009
    10
    In a word I thought this movie was exquisite. I loved the acting of the two lead actors.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  20. Time
    Aug 15, 2010
    9
    Unequivocally, undeniably human. When the end credits started rolling, I was initially annoyed that all my questions weren't neatly answered, but the rich character development is what stayed with me.
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Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 25 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Gautaman Bhaskaran
    80
    It is both funny and sad, placid and provocative and, above all, hopeful and despairing.
    Read full review
  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Ronnie Scheib
    90
    Utterly engrossing dual-character study, unfolding with a serene disregard for indie quirkiness, Goodbye Solo radiates authenticity.
    Read full review
  3. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    90
    Like his protagonist, Bahrani never gives up on William; his camera never stops probing. He loves West's face, and he honors its mystery.
    Read full review
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