SMOKE SIGNALS (1998)
Rating: 3 stars (out of 4.0) ******************************** Key to rating system: 2.0 stars - Debatable 2.5 stars - Some people may like it 3.0 stars - I liked it 3.5 stars - I am biased in favor of the movie 4.0 stars - I felt the movie's impact personally or it stood out *********************************
Directed by: Chris Eyre
Written by: Sherman Alexie
Starring: Adam Beach, Evan Adams, Irene Bedard, Gary Farmer, Tantoo Cardinal
Ingredients: Two young guys on a road trip who can't get along, Native Americans, fatherhood
Synopsis: Flashback: Years ago a tragic fire occurs in a home on an American Indian Reservation in Idaho. During the fire an alcohol-prone man named Arnold Joseph (Gary Farmer) bravely saves an infant named Thomas, about the same age as his own baby boy Victor. "I didn't mean to," Arnold says. Tragically, Arnold becomes an alcoholic as the lads grow taller, and finally he abandons his son Victor and the family.
When an unexpected phone call brings the news of Arnold's death in a trailer park in Phoenix to the Idaho reservation, Victor (Adam Beach) and Thomas (Evan Adams) are about 20 years old. Victor is somewhat of a stoic, cynical person, while Thomas is an irritating, talkative, geeky person. Although they don't have much money, the misfit friends set off together on a quest to reach the Phoenix trailer park to recover Arnold's ashes.
In the meantime, they ponder who exactly Arnold was, why he left, and the general bond between fathers and sons.
Opinion: SMOKE SIGNALS is a tasteful and well-acted movie about a universal theme: trying to understand why your father did the things he did, as you were growing up. Aside from being a movie about two guys on the road and the universal theme of men trying to understand their fathers, there is also a pleasant and unique cultural background that pervades the movie. SMOKE SIGNALS is written, directed, and acted by Native Americans.
For example, when the son asks, "I promised you I would. You want me to sign a written contract, Mom?" the mother replies, "Nah, we Indians have a thing about signed documents."
The soundtrack is also very unique, especially for those like myself who are unfamiliar with rock done in American Indian style. (Actually rock music is ethnic by nature, since it is the blending of African rhythms with the European chord schemes). Conventional rock music is on a 4/4 beat, but the timing of the notes in Native American Indian chants is highly advanced; much more sophisticated than folk or rock. The blending of Native American timing with the rock beat is fascinating. A good example of this is the humorous song, "John Wayne's Teeth" which is heard during the bus trip in the movie.
All in all, it's obvious that SMOKE SIGNALS was lovingly created by people who wanted to bring homespun wisdom to life. If you've seen one too many megastar schlock formulas this summer and are burnt out on them, take a break and check out SMOKE SIGNALS.
Reviewed August 30, 1998
Copyright © 1998 by David Sunga This review and others like it can be found at THE CRITIC ZOO: http://www.criticzoo.com email: zookeeper@criticzoo.com
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews