Smoke Signals (1998)

A story is only as good as all of its parts

"Smoke Signals" is a 1998 film based on short stories from Sherman Alexie's book "Tonto and the Lone Ranger Fistfight in Heaven." This is one of the first films directed by, written by, acted by and crewed by a full Native American team.

The story is about two unlikely young Native American men who are traveling together to retrieve Arnold Joseph (Gary Farmer's) ashes. Victor Joseph (Adam Beach) is the son that Arnold abandoned ten years before when his parents got into a drunken brawl. Thomas Builds-The-Fire (Evan Adams) is the same age as Victor and was saved by Arnold in a house fire that killed both of his parents.

Both have an entirely different point of view of the man who in a sense gave them their lives. Along the way, Thomas nearly drives Victor crazy with his storytelling of his father. Victor remains silent and angry about the family's parting.

In Phoenix, they meet Suzy Song (Irene Bedard) who loved Arnold and has an entirely different story to tell. Nobody's story is completely true, but when all the disjointed pieces come together they make a poetic sense.

Both the journey and the stories are beautifully told with humor and grace. The music is a great counterpoint to the tale, just enough but not overpowering.

Overall, "Smoke Signals" is very watchable and definitely a film I would want to own and recommend to friends.

Rebecca Kyle, July 2008 July 17, 2008

Funny...

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.
June 12, 2008

If you liked Northern Exposure...

You'll like this movie. (Personally, I loved both!) Not only did it include at least two members of the NE cast, it had that same kind of otherworldly-yet-relatable feel to it.

I enjoyed the acting of both lead characters, although Thomas's accent was a little odd (it sounded similar to an Irish brogue in the way it moved up and down, but perhaps it's just because I've never heard a storytelling accent before). I really felt as though I knew the father in the story by the end of it. I won't spoil the movie for anyone but it is a heartbreaker when you find out what happened.

Great job--I hope to see more from this ensemble! May 14, 2008

Powerful story. Sherman Alexie is a genius.

Smoke Signals is a deeply affecting, heartfelt story of Victor's struggle with his father-- how his father was as a "dad", how and why his father left, and the stories about his father spun by Victor's friend, Thomas. ANYONE with "issues" with a parent or the past needs to watch this film. It's AMAZING. May 3, 2008

A touching, funny movie about forgiveness, fathers and fry bread. Should we die or have breakfast?

The more you try to describe a movie like Smoke Signals the likelier it is that you'll kill it. The story basically is about a son who eventually reaches some understanding concerning his father, who left the family years ago. The discovery and acceptance by the resentful Victor Joseph of his father's own unhappiness plays out in a road trip Victor and his friend, Thomas Builds-the-Fire, take from the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation in Idaho where they live to Phoenix to pick up the father's ashes. This sort of story has been so often turgidly overplayed by film-makers searching for "truth" that it's a surprise to find just how touching and humorous Smoke Signals turns out to be. The story may be about a search of discovery, but it's played out against the friction of reservation life in a white world. The humor carries a lot of irony but the dialog and situations are so gentle and natural that the inherent messages don't slam us about. There's no victim card being played here, just some truths told with the kind of underplayed honesty that makes ethnic humor, delivered by those same ethnic people, work not just for them but for those in a white world who are overhearing.

Victor Joseph (Adam Beach) is a big, good looking young man who barely gets along, plays basketball and carries a chip on his shoulder. Thomas Builds-the-Fire (Evan Adams) is a scrawny, glasses-wearing young man who tells stories and talks about almost everything. Thomas has been raised by his grandmother. A fire killed his parents and it was Victor's father, Arnold Joseph (Gary Farmer), who caught Thomas, just a baby, when Thomas was tossed from a second floor window. Arnold Joseph was a big man, quick to laugh and quick to hit, maybe not a drunk but close to it. He denied being a hero. One day, when Victor was about 12, Arnold Joseph picked up and left. Victor never forgave him. When word of Arnold's death reaches Victor's mother. Victor decides he must get the ashes, but he doesn't have enough money. "Hey Victor!" Thomas says, "I'm sorry 'bout your dad." "How'd you hear about it?" Victor asks. "I heard it on the wind," Thomas says, "I heard it from the birds. I felt it in the sunlight. And your mom was just in here cryin'." Thomas has some money in a jar and offers it if he can come along. Off they go, hitchhiking, taking a bus, walking. Along the way, while Victor wrestles with his feelings about the father who left him, screenwriter Sherman Alexie and director Chris Eyre give us the kind of edgy smiles that are rare nowadays. "You gotta look mean or people won't respect you," says Victor to Thomas on the bus to Phoenix. "White people will run all over you if you don't look mean. You gotta look like a warrior! You gotta look like you just came back from killing a buffalo!" "But our tribe never hunted buffalo -- we were fishermen," says Thomas. "What!" says Victor, "you want to look like you just came back from catching a fish? This ain't 'Dances With Salmon' you know!"

Yes, they return to the reservations with the ashes. Victor winds up learning a lot about himself as well as about his father. He learns a good deal about what Thomas reaches for with all the stories Thomas tells. We learn a lot about the value of a quiet movie with a fine screenplay and skillful direction. We learn about fry bread. And as Thomas says, when the going gets tough, "Sometimes it's a good day to die, and sometimes it's a good day to have breakfast."

All the actors do commendable jobs, but Evan Adams is a standout. When he closes his eyes and starts to spin one of Thomas' stories, you don't really want him to stop. Adams has the challenging job of bringing us to the movie's close, emotionally and thoughtfully. "Do we forgive our fathers in our age or in theirs, or in their deaths, saying it to them, or not saying it? If we forgive our fathers...what is left?"

Smoke Signals is based on Sherman Alexie's book of stories, The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight In Heaven. The DVD transfer looks just fine. There are no extras of any importance. April 25, 2008

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