ilpositionokb Review of Smoke Signals

Smoke Signals (1998)

A Caring and Poignant Look into Life on a Reservation.

[9/10 · 17 April 2004]

"Smoke Signals", the first film written, directed and starring American Indians, delineates the contemporary Native American experience with a soulful wit and an incisive attitude. It's setting is the Coeur d' Alene Indian Reservation in Idaho where the K.R.E.Z. disc jockey(Broadcasting live from his trailer) proclaims the morning 'a great day to be indigenous'. The film's focal character, Victor(Adam Beach) is a closed-off youth with indiscernible ambition. He languishes around the expansive grounds dwelling over the absence of his father and a perceived lack of opportunity. "Smoke Signals" details the strange dynamics of Victor's friendship with childhood pal Thomas Builds-a-Fire(Evan Adams) who frequently regales the locals with his practiced storytelling skills. Victor is stoic and athletic, with an affected warrior look. Thomas is unnervingly talkative with a smiling naivete and a decidedly bookish appearance.(Thomas also serves as the film's narrator) Novelist Sherman Alexie wrote the script. It is based on stories from his book "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven". He uses a casually irreverent humor to help tell his tale of personal and national identity. In a brief scene with his mother, Victor kids- 'What do you want a contract? You know how Indians feel about signing paper'. And later Thomas recounts how Victor's dad almost spent time for protesting the vietnam war only to have the charge plea-bargained to 'being an Indian in the twentieth century.' The movie's interesting cultural details(Fry bread, the significance of long hair, etc.) and salient dialogue accentuate it's themes of truth, self-acceptance, and the capacity to forgive. The cinematic structure is equally impressive. Director Chris Eyre employs several unsuspecting flashbacks to reveal the film's central secret. Victor and Thomas's present journey for answers alternates seamlessly with the lyrical recollections of the past. (Possible spoiler) In the end, the determined Thomas helps his friend come to terms with his father, his ancestry, and his exclusive place in life. The understanding Victor gains enables him to liberate the persistent bitterness and disappointment from his world. "Smoke Signals" deserves a look for those who missed it's theatrical run. It presents viewers with a caring and poignant glimpse into life on a reservation and the unique perspective of today's Native Americans. Kurt