3. Ramin Bahrani
Key Films: Man Push Cart, Chop Shop, Goodbye Solo One of Roger Eberts favorite contemporary filmmaker, Ramin Bahrani is the closest thing to a neo-realist filmmaker that we have today. His masterpiece, Chop Shop, is every bit as powerful and minimalistic as The Bicycle Thieves. What he does with his three films, is introduce people that are not normally featured and he humanizes them. His characters are heartfelt and he constructs worlds that are not normally seen. All of his films have a sort of lyricism to them with the way the camera flows through the gritty areas that he normally explores. But, what he does is find humanity under the grit that can often times hide all that is good. Chop Shop is a passionate study of people who did not have a chance to succeed and are trying their best to get by. Thus there is the neo-realist comparison. Man Push Cart, his first feature, deals with one of those bagel stand salesman who we normally just pass by without giving a second look. He brings a compassionate look to this lifestyle but most importantly brings to the forefront their hardships that they may face. Often times, compassion may seem forced or ingenious as it is one of the easiest emotions to manufacture. But, compare his film Goodbye Solo to the recent French hit The Intouchables. Both films are about a driver befriending a person who is lost in life. The Intouchables seems contrived and flawed. Bahrani with Goodbye Solo lacks melodrama while telling its hopeful, depressing tale. The lyricism of his filmmaking brings together the spiritual journey and drive of the two people in that taxi cab and the results is a beautiful film that was widely under seen. Never will Ramin Bahrani be a big named director but, years later when his films come out on Criterion, he will be a person worth noting.