Smoke Signals

I flew up to Seattle on the '98 July 4th weekend to see the matinee premier on the Friday. Sherman Alexie is a, of course, a well known poetry and prose writer in the Northwest, but this was his first step into cinema with a screenplay based on his short story, 'The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven.'

The premiere was at an old, Egyptian-themed cinema in Seattle and the house was half full for the 4:30 matinee. The audience was predominately Native American.

On exit, Sherman stood on the sidewalk in the late afternoon Seattle light and waited nervously like a child, to see the reaction to the film (which had ended with unanimous applauds from the half house audience). A film crew was there for exit polling.

A diminutive Native American female elder slowly approached Sherman. She moved forward and extended her arms around him into a hug and spoke softly, "Thank you."

Sherman was mush.

Don't miss this film. He's not 'the Spike Lee of Native American film making' as the Time Magazine of that week put it. He's an independent, regional film maker, whose background is the 'Rez.'

"Smoke Signals" was touted at Sundance as the first completely Native American written, produced, directed etc. film or some such.

I thought it was going to be a plot less road movie, but it turned out instead to be about family and had a very specific story and plot line that avoided clichés. In that way it reminded me of the New Zealand "Once Were Warriors" - with about 1% of that violence about aborigine families struggling to have dignity within the confines of a white-restricted world. Like that movie you virtually don't see whites at all.

I very much liked how the flash backs were handled (in the context of "the past is never dead, it's never even past" type evocation). The title is used for several layers of meanings about smoke and fire.

Dar Williams's road song was used in an ironic road way, but I think it was added on afterwards. The passenger is bopping along to the song on the radio saying over and over that it's her favorite song, which would be odd for an obscure song. But the joke is also that the car can only go in reverse.

John Trudell (he's the DJ at KREZ) and Elaine Miles ("Marilyn" from "Northern Exposure") have teeny parts. The music is appealing --though none by Trudell and very little traditional. The closing credits have a Walala (the trio with Rita Coolidge and sister) tune that I thought it would be cool if it got nominated for an Oscar, if it's not previously recorded, as I thought it would be something different at the Academy Awards. The other music mostly also comes ostensibly from KREZ and is by Native Americans but in the singer-songwriter mode (no Bill Miller used). Other than Ulali (I thought was Walela, but I was corrected) and Dar when I tried to read the credits as they quickly went by I didn't recognize any of the names.

I almost immediately caught "Powwow Highway" on cable and was surprised to see how much it must have influenced "Smoke Signals" as a Native American road movie.

(originally written 7/2/1998)

The main trouble with Smoke Signals is that after you see it you will be disappointed with not only the rest of the movies or television you are likely to see but also with most of the films you have seen before it.Since too many people haven't seen it you will have to listen to people talk about "what dreams may come",or some such. You can't tell people that a guy sitting on a van giving a traffic report when there is no traffic,is more humorous than most sit-coms.But that is the trouble when a true 10 picture comes out, it tends to drop many of the others a point.If you haven't seen it rent it or better buy it. but be warned that you may be watching another movie and you will think "who needs this ----" i could be watching "Smoke signals"

This film did not get the attention it deserved. When I first heard about a film made by Native Americans, I was afraid it would be an exercise in political correctness. But the ethnicity of the characters took a back seat to the universal themes of friendship and learning to come to terms with one's past. This is one of the greatest "buddy movies" ever made. A couple of years after I saw it I drove through the American Southwest for the first time, and images of the film kept coming into my head. This is a film which really stays with you.

"Smoke Signals" is one of the most unique movies I have ever seen. From the combinations of stories, characters, and filmmaking. The acting in this movie was witty, funny, serious and heartbreaking all at the same time. Even though this is a movie about Native American culture, it is a movie that talks to everyone no matter what there ethnic background may be. I am of Italian heritage but this movie still got to me. It tackles issues of family, culture, and tradition as well as friendship. The acting is this movie is superb and the filmmaker's shots and different ways of filming scenes and how each one flowed into another was amazing. In school we had to read some stories by Sherman Alexie and then we watched the movie. If it weren't for my English teacher I may have missed watching one of the most brilliant independent films ever made.