Smoke (1995)

This "Smoke" Doesn't Stink

This little gem is one of the unsung classics of the nineties. Director Wayne Wang and co-director and scenarist Paul Auster have crafted a film that at turns funny, poignant, and tragic in a way that will always stay with you. Some may be turned off because the film centers on a Brooklyn tobacco shop and for sure there is a lot of casual smoking here but that's just a starting point for a script that follows a variety of interesting characters and many intriguing story twists. Harvey Keitel as Auggie the owner of the store gave what I thought one of the best performances of his career. The film is populated by great work(William Hurt, Forrest Whitaker, et. al) but Auggie is the glue that holds the film together. The extended scene where Auggie relates to the writer played by Hurt a Christmas story is worth the price of admission alone. Even better is the scene over the end credits where Auggie's story is visualized as Leonard Cohen warbles on the soundtrack. Also noteworthy is an unforgettable cameo by Ashley Judd as Stockard Channing's drug-addled daughter. This rank's with Alec Baldwin's work in "Glengarry Glen Ross" as an example of an actor making a major impact on a film with minimal screen time. June 29, 2008

the story within the story

there's nothing i can add to the wonderful NY reviewers' comments here, except to say that if you enjoy this movie, watch for "auggie wren's christmas story" - the story within the film of auggie tracking down the magazine thief using the lost wallet. like "smoke," (also based on a story by auster) it's available in book form, and its charming small size makes it an excellent stocking stuffer. i heartily recommend ALL of auster's novels to those who appreciate downhome writing, NY style. auster is the flannery o'connor of the northeast. December 15, 2007

Best of the genre

Slice o' life. Not too heavy, not too light. Absolutely believable. Very moving, but doesn't pander to cheap emotionalism. Even the dialogue is recognizable as something you might actually hear in real life. Substitutes a story for the usual violence, sex and high-decibel action. Acting, character presentation superb. For those not too cynical to enjoy a great, yet realistic feel-good movie, this is a good one. I use other high-rating picks of Amazon Five-Star reviewers of this movie as a rough guide for evaluating movies I haven't seen. November 17, 2007

A neatly pulled-together story

I tried to rent this from three separate video stores. No luck. What a shame; more people should have the opportunity to see this movie. Paul Auster and Wayne Wang have a curious treatment of race, but I otherwise enjoyed this well-thought-out film. May 7, 2007

Harvey Keitel... as a GOOD guy!

Smoke (Wayne Wang, 1995)

Wayne Wang has had a kind of up-and-down career over the years, but Smoke is definitely one of his up moments. Not to say there couldn't have been some things done better here, but Wang takes Paul Auster's script and a fantastic stable of actors and just lets them loose. By all reports, Auster's script ended up taking quite a beating at the hands of the actors-- how much of the movie's dialogue is improvised has been a hotly-debated topic for years, but even the most conservative figures are pretty high-- but the end result is worthwhile.

The movie focuses around Auggie Wren (Harvey Keitel), the owner of a cigar store, and his customer/friend Paul Benjamin (William Hurt), a writer trying to overcome the recent death of his wife. In the main storyline, into their lives steps Rashid Cole (Lost's Harold Perrineau), a kid on the run from a couple of gangsters. The movie then spins off onto tangents involving Rashid, Paul, and Auggie separately-- Rashid finds out his father (Forest Whitaker) is alive and living outside the city, Auggie's ex-girlfriend Ruby (Stockard Channing) shows up to tell him he's got an eighteen-year-old daughter, Paul; of course, is still dealing with his wife, and the resulting writers' block.

With all that Wang tries to fit into a surprisingly short movie, some of the plotlines get short shrift. Especially puzzling is the minuscule amount of screen time given Ashley Judd, who plays Auggie's daughter; their brief conversation opens a lot of doors into a lot of different places this movie (or a sequel) could have gone, and there's no follow-up. But still, what's here is grand, and well worth watching. *** ½ January 3, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...