SMOKE SIGNALS (1998)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
I attended a screening of "Smoke Signals" at the Theatre Three in Port Jefferson, New York back in 1999. There was a big audience turnout and most seem to like it when it was over. But one audience member said the movie was terrible - it could be that it was too simple or too subtle. I disagreed but I think a film like "Smoke Signals" either moves you with its simplicity or it merely irritates you. I am going with the former.
Except for the opening sequence, the movie segues suspiciously into comedic territory. We see a tribal meteorologist sitting on a van out in the main highway, commenting on the shape of clouds and the occasional traffic. Then there's the radio host who is shown in a battered, beaten-up motor home of sorts commenting on the big winner of a bingo game. Pretty soon, we see two young Native American women listening to rock music and driving backwards. Before you know it, we are in the Coeur D'Alene Reservation in Idaho. News travels fast that a former member of the reservation, Arnold Joseph (Gary Farmer), had just died. Victor Joseph (Adam Beach) is the mopey son who only remembers his father as being abusive and an alcoholic. Nevertheless, Victor has to travel to Phoenix and recover his father's ashes from a neighbor. Thomas Builds-the-Fire (Evan Adams) accompanies him and annoys Victor with endless stories about Arnold.
We learn through their talks that Victor and Thomas were rescued in a fire by Arnold when they were infants, though the extent of their rescue is only slowly revealed. Victor and Thomas don't like each other much, though Victor tells Thomas to get rid of his suit and braids and act tougher by maintaining a stoic look - the white man, after all, must be in fear of the Indian.
Mistakenly advertised as a comedy, "Smoke Signals" is clearly dramatic but in a less forcible and less confrontational manner. It doesn't pound you over the head with symbolism or rhetoric, and it doesn't make you feel sorry for those who reside in reservations with the bare minimum. Instead, the film envelops you with tightly woven flashbacks and able performances. Particularly memorable is Evan Adams as Thomas, playing and appearing as a Native American stereotype with his braids, glasses and wide grin - a character that audiences could relate to, which is precisely the point. Adam Beach is perfectly cast as Victor, the tougher of the two who's acutely aware of how to size people up. He has a splendid scene where he sings about John Wayne's teeth in the bus as a rebuke to some racist white guys who take their seats. Also noteworthy is Gary Farmer as Arnold, articulating nuances of drunken behavior and regret with ease - it is possibly the best role Farmer has yet played.
"Smoke Signals" is a small, pleasing film that gets by on small pleasures and does them with enough sincerity to score points. It is not a great film nor is it really stunning or innovative in any way, and the screenplay limits two crucial female characters to merely standby status. Still, it is just a pleasure to see something so quiet and absorbing.
