Subway Stories: "Sax, Cantor, Riff"

Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground was a film made in 1997 and produced by HBO for television.  It began as a contest among New Yorkers who submitted stories about their experiences within the New York City Subway.  HBO picked ten of the stories and cast mostly well-known or accomplished actors (such as Denis Leary, George T. Odom, Rosie Perez, and Bill Irwin), and ten well-respected directors (such as Jonathan Demme, Ted Demme, Abel Ferrara, Craig McKay, Julie Dash, and Bob Balaban).

The story that most stood out for me was called "Sax Cantor Riff", written and directed by Julie Dash.  Starring Taral Hicks, and with a brief appearance by Sam Rockwell, this short celebrates the the unexpected musical gifts which the subway can give.  In overlapping duets between a saxophone player, accompanying first a gospel singer, and then a Jewish singer, one finds the subay to be an underground Carnegie Hall - whether the music is born of the grief wrought by experiencing the death of a parent in public, or produced by the heart-rending lament of Hasidic man's unexpected emotional outpouring.