Smoke Signals (1998) Adam Beach, Evan Adams, Irene Bedard, Gary Farmer, Tantoo Cardinal, Cody Lightning, Joseph Simon Baker, Michelle St. John, Robert Miano, Penny Monique Mojica, Elaine Miles, Michael Greyeyes, Chief Leonard George, John Trudell, Darwin Haine, Tom Skerritt, Cynthia Geary, Perrey Reeves. Screenplay by Sherman Alexie (based on his book "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven"). Directed by Chris Eyre. 88 minutes. Rated PG-13, 3 stars (out of five stars)
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com/film/ Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Edward+Johnson-ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to pbbp24a@prodigy.com
Oh, what a debt the cinema owes to lousy father and son relationships. Between the films about sons trying to reconcile with Dad, dads trying to reconcile with sons, and young men seeking father figures because Dad is either dead or just too damn mean, this angst-filled genre has produced a number of fine movies, providing welcome vicarious catharsis for tortured males the world over.
"Smoke Signals" is the latest addition to the bad Dad genre, enlivened with a healthy dose of good humor. Written by Sherman Alexie, from his caustic short-story collection "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven," the film centers on Victor Joseph (Adam Beach) and Thomas Builds- the-Fire (Evan Adams), two Coeur d'Alene Indians living on an Idaho reservation. When word arrives that Victor's father, who deserted his wife and son years earlier, has died, the young men head for Phoenix to collect his remains.
Though far from friends, Victor and Thomas have shared a connection since childhood, when Victor's father Arnold (Gary Farmer) saved the baby Thomas from a fire that killed his parents. Victor grew up sullen and stoic, while Thomas became the Native American Urkel. Wearing pigtails, black-framed glasses and a constant goofy grin, Thomas tells mythic tales of his heritage over and over in a peculiar sing-song voice. He irritates the hell out of Victor, who grudgingly allows him to come on the journey only because Thomas has the travel funds Victor lacks.
With its mismatched-pair-on-a-road-trip structure and estranged father and son subtext, "Smoke Signals" covers very familiar turf, but does so with style, punctuating the men's trip with illuminating flashbacks to their childhoods. The easygoing film has real charm, thanks to winning performances and Alexie's eye for character detail.
In the early scenes at the reservation, he establishes an agreeably quirky feel, reminiscent of the "Northern Exposure" TV series. The KREZ morning deejay greets listeners with "It's a good day to be indigenous" before cutting to a man perched on his broken-down truck at a dusty intersection, who offers amusing deadpan bulletins like "Big truck just went by. Now it's gone" over his cell-phone. Victor and Thomas exchange pleasantries with two young women who cruise the reservation driving in reverse, apparently the only gear that works on their car. Elaine Miles, the enigmatic Marilyn from "Northern Exposure," is one of the women. Cynthia Geary, who played Shelly on the show, also pops in later, further underscoring the stylistic connection to the series.
Colorful townfolks aside, the heart of the film is the relationship between Victor and Thomas, thankfully two very well-rounded and intriguing characters. Adam Beach does fine work adding shadings to Victor's tortured soul, and Evan Adams is a revelation as the peculiar, but extremely engaging Thomas. Just when you're about to write off the young man as a hapless loon, he says something quite insightful. And just as you begin to respect his off-the-wall wisdom, he blurts out some wildly clueless statement. Such a beguiling odd duck.
As the details about Victor's father slowly emerge, things change for both men. The revelations and life-lessons in "Smoke Signals" are nothing new, but they resonate anyway, because the dialogue rings true and the characters are so credible.
Presented with both the Audience Award and the Filmmakers Trophy at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, "Smoke Signals" is a ragged, but disarming little film. In a cinematic climate overflowing with character-deficient event movies, it's nice to see an unassuming work about actual human beings come up a winner for a change.
© 1998 Ed Johnson-Ott
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