Smoke Signals
by Chris Eyre
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Adam Beach, Evan Adams, Gary Farmer, Irene Bedard, Tantoo CardinalDirector: Chris Eyre
Cinematographer: Brian Capener
Editor: Brian Berdan
Producer: Carl Bressler
Producer: David Skinner
Writer: Sherman Alexie
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Letterbox, 1.85:1
Running Time: 89 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-09-28
Studio: Miramax Films
Movie Reviews of Smoke Signals
Movie Review: Funny...
Summary: 5 Stars
Film is set on an Indian Reservation in Idaho. This is the first film directly, acted and produced entirely by Native Americans. The story is centered around Victor and Thomas. Victor is handsome, athletic and a guy's guy. Thomas is a short, geeky nerd and relishes in storytelling. The boys are connected through Victor's Father, who saved Thomas from a fire that killed his parents. Thomas considers Victor's Father a hero and tells worship-like stories about him. He is optimistic, upbeat and a dreamer. Conversely, Victor has to contend with his Father's alcoholism, beatings and verbal abuse - and is a sullen young man who is constantly brooding. Victor and Thomas grow up together in the neighborhood - not a close friendship but one of a forced alliance.
Eventually, Victor's Father leaves him and his Mother to parts unknown. Victor learns that his Father dies and he is asked to pick up his Father's ashes and belongings. Victor leans on Thomas to lend him the money to make the trip to Phoenix, however Thomas will only do so if Victor brings him along the trip.
This is a quirky, funny film - similar to the awarded winning film, Juno. You feel the hatred, the love and the longing that Victor has for his Father. The relationship between Victor and the one-of-a-kind Thomas is similar to John Candy and Steve Martin in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Victor comes to learn about his Father and his friend Thomas on his journey. Terrific film.
Summary of Smoke Signals
Based on a couple of short stories (from The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven) by Sherman Alexie, Smoke Signals is a lean and assured feature that speaks well of its lengthy, rich evolution, including a development stint at Sundance. The first feature made by a Native American crew and creative team, the film concerns two young Idaho men with radically different memories of one Arnold Joseph (Gary Farmer), a former resident of the reservation who split years before and has just died in Phoenix. Arnold's strapping, popular son, Victor (Adam Beach), remembers him best as an alcoholic, occasionally abusive father who drove off one day and never came back. By contrast, Thomas Builds-the-Fire (Evan Adams), whom Arnold had saved from certain death years earlier, has chosen to exaggerate the man's life and deeds in a mythmaking fashion that drives Victor crazy. Circumstances bring the two together, however, in a bus ride to retrieve Arnold's ashes. There, in Phoenix, a confrontation with the reality of the dead man's fullest legacy has a profound effect on both characters. Alexie, who wrote the script and was personally involved in all aspects of the production, and first-time director Chris Eyre are so polished in their approach that you can barely feel the cinematic engine at work here. This is the kind of movie in which the characters seem to be driving everything forward, a captivating and pleasant experience that gets a little too tidy at the end (can we call a moratorium on scenes of human ashes lovingly disposed to the winds?), but which is undeniably moving. The cast, including Irene Bedard (the voice of and physical inspiration for Disney's Pocahontas) is outstanding. --Tom KeoghCritically acclaimed as one of the best films of the year, SMOKE SIGNALS was also a distinguished winner at the Sundance Film Festival! Though Victor and Thomas have lived their entire young lives in the same tiny town, they couldn't have less in common! But when Victor is urgently called away, it's Thomas who comes up with the money to pay for his trip. There's just one thing Victor has to do: take Thomas along for the ride! You're in for a rare and entertaining comic treat as this most unlikely pair leave home on what becomes an unexpectedly unforgettable adventure of friendship and discovery!
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