Ramin Bahrani Movies

The son of a prominent seed farmer defies his father's wishes to take over the family business by choosing to become a professional race-car driver in this earnest family drama from director Ramin Bahrani (Goodbye Solo). Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid) has worked hard to maintain his father's lucrative farming empire. But now, as Henry nears retirement, he plans to pass the business along to his beloved son Dean (Zac Efron). Meanwhile, the deeper Henry immerses himself in his work, the more detached he grows from his family. Later, as Dean rejects a life in agriculture for the thrill of the racetrack, the family business comes under fire during an investigation that could leave the entire clan in financial ruin. Kim Dickens, Heather Graham, and Clancy Brown co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A Senegalese taxi driver living in Winston-Salem, NC, makes the decision to befriend a depressive passenger with a tragic plan in director Ramin Bahrani's deeply humanistic drama. Solo (Souléymane Sy Savané) is a cab driver who believes that everyone should be engaged and concerned with one another, and thus lacks the self-conscious view of relationships so prevalent in North American society. When a 70-year-old passenger named William (Red West) hails Solo's cab and he books him for another ride in two weeks during the course of the ride, it quickly becomes apparent during their negotiation that the man isn't planning to return from his impending trip. Troubled at the thought of what his passenger has planned, Solo does his best to strike up a friendship and convince William to reconsider. But William harbors a pain more deep-rooted than Solo first senses, displaying a visible desire for privacy that immediately puts him at odds with the genuinely concerned cab driver. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A former Pakistani rock star attempts to adjust to life in New York City while simultaneously making friends and selling coffee from a push cart on the streets of Manhattan in Iranian-American director Ramin Bahrani poignant, character-driven drama. By day Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi) tends to hurried Manhattan-ites by keeping their bellies full and ensuring that they are adequately caffeinated, and by night he supplements his income by selling bootleg porn DVDs. Though Ahmad hopes to one day raise enough money to purchase a place of his own and reunite with his estranged son, times are tough in the city and the hard-working immigrant soon strikes up a tentative friendship with fellow countryman Mohammed (Charles Daniel Sandoval); a generous but sometimes condescending soul who readily takes the fledgling New Yorker under his knowing wing while offering additional work decorating his apartment. Spanish immigrant Noemi (Leticia Dolera) works at a newsstand near Ahmad's cart, and also finds herself warming to the haunted former rock-star's timid ways. As Ahmad, Mohammed, and Noemi gradually begin to socialize together, a tragedy in Ahmad's past soon prompts the struggling New York newcomer to question the true nature of his current relationships. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi