Simply Perfect

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I don't want get too political during this review, but I believe that this movie is not good as a result of a compounded number of societal failures. The fact that this was acclaimed as the first movie to have Native American characters portrayed by Native American actors and a Native American writer and director is unfortunate because in an objective sense, it's not a well crafted or well executed film. This is not because Native Americans are naturally less talented in artistic pursuits, but they just aren't given good opportunities to become artists or actors. Now, much of the blame for that can be attributed to the settlers and pioneers that took America for their own in centuries past, but, in the words of V, "if you are looking for the guilty party, you need only look in the mirror."Sherman Alexie's writing was rather disappointing considering how much I've loved his books. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is one of my favorite books because of it's sarcastic wit and emotional resonance, but unfortunately Alexie doesn't show the same proficiency as a screenwriter that he does as a novelist. There is still some of the same tone from his novels here, like in the song about John Wayne's teeth. Despite this disappointment, he has written a story that is deep and bittersweet at its core. Even though Victor and Thomas and Arnold are a little annoying, they have human conflicts that really aren't resolved at the end. In many coming of age stories like this in which the hero finds his identity, he or she is clearly a better person by the end of the movie. This is not the case in Smoke Signals. I didn't get the sense that Victor had experienced any kind of self-discovery or surge of identity; he just transitioned into a different stage of conflict over his feelings about his late father. Similarly, Arnold did not seem to have died in peace. He never redeems himself for the torment that he put Victor and himself through. This is not to say that the story should have continued, it's just that nothing was really resolved by the end of the story. This is unconventional, but I think it is much truer to life than a traditional happy ending.If you didn't like this movie, I would recommend that you read one or two of Sherman Alexie's books, because I think that they will give you a greater appreciation for what this film stands for. It won't make you like it any more, but it might make you more forgiving of the movie's technical shortcomings. Overall Rating: 6.4/10.

It is 1998 in Idaho. Victor has hated his father who deserted him ten years ago. One day he hears of his father's death in Arizona. Although Victor refuses to pick his father's ashes up in Arizona, he is persuaded by Thomas who is a childhood friend. The two young men start the trip and leave the reservation in Idaho. It is the first time for them to leave their reservation.The two men's characters are very contrasting. Although they sometimes quarrel with each other, they deepen their friendship during the trip. When Victor visits his father's Arizona home , he learns about his father's worries and the truth. He tries to understand. He decides to accept the whole of his father and live positively. The trip helped him to grow up. I was moved by their friendship and love for family.Both Director Chris Eyre and Screenwriter Sherman Alexie are Native American. This movie is different from other Western movies. They don't describe that Indians are silent, stoic types, that we've been used to. If you want to know about real Indian life and problems, I recommend this movie to you.

Moving, inspiring, and authentic are all words used to describe Sheman Alexie's 1998 critically acclaimed Smoke Signals, starring Adam Beach, Evan Adams and Gary Farmer. It was one of the first films to cast actual Native Americans to play the Native American roles. The story will make you smile, laugh and possibly cry, but overall it is a heartwarming story of two young men trying to find their way as Native American's in modern America. The setting is the Coeur d'Alene Reservation and it's the 4th of July. Arnold Joseph saves two infant boys from a fire that breaks out. Unfortunately, the parents of Thomas Builds-the- Fire, whom he saved, do not survive. Arnold is never the same after that tragic day. Victor Joseph becomes strong and stoic when his father leaves him and his mother when he is a child. When he gets the news that his father has past away he continues to be angry with him. It's not until he and Thomas go on the journey to recover the remains does Victor realize his father leaving him wasn't because of him, but because of the drunken disaster he had become and the mess he had created. Throughout the film many historical and traditional Native American facts are brought to life. On the reservation, people do not use much money, but often barter or trade for goods with stories and favors. Also, cars do not always get fixed and because laws on the Reservation differ from state laws, one could even drive their vehicle backwards around town if the transmission went out. As for the stories, Thomas does an over the top rendition of someone using the oral tradition of story telling by telling them whenever he gets the chance and going on and on and on. At the end of the film when he and Victor have returned from their journey, Grandma Builds-the-Fire asks Thomas to tell her how it's going to end. He then goes into my favorite and the most touching part of the movie. The quote is as follows. "How do we forgive our fathers? Maybe in a dream. Do we forgive our fathers for leaving us too often, or forever, when we were little? Maybe for scaring us with unexpected rage, or making us nervous because there never seemed to be any rage there at all? Do we forgive our fathers for marrying, or not marrying, our mothers? Or divorcing, or not divorcing, our mothers? And shall we forgive them for their excesses of warmth or coldness? Shall we forgive them for pushing, or leaning? For shutting doors or speaking through walls? For never speaking, or never being silent? 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?"

Writer Sherman Alexie's new book, Flight, is his first in ten years, and would be another terrific movie (my review is at http://lakeconews.com/content/view/2580/42/ if you'd like to read it) and ten years between films is quite long enough. :-)Smoke Signals gives us an aspect of Native Americans most of us rarely see, their wonderful humor--possibly what saves us white folks from the kind of violent retaliation we see in other occupied lands. Road movie, rez movie,coming of age--it's all that. It would be perfect for discussion in film classes or community groups, especially if there are native people in the group to talk about their reactions to it.