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| Director: Chris Eyre
Actors: Adam Beach, Evan Adams, Irene Bedard, Gary Farmer, Tantoo Cardinal
Studio: Miramax Films
List Price: $9.99
Buy Used: $2.52
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Rating:  188 reviews
Sales Rank: 9069
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Ntsc
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 89 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0788813714
UPC: 786936089691
EAN: 9780788813719
ASIN: 6305210101
Theatrical Release Date: June 26, 1998
Release Date: January 19, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Average used video with original case * * We carefully inspected this * Great customer service * Satisfaction Guaranteed!
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 11-15 of 188
 A wonderful film about acceptance and forgiveness. March 8, 1999
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
A well written, well acted movie with a wonderful message about families and coming to terms with those things in families less than perfect. No family is picture perfect, some struggle more than others. And we all carry baggage from our childhood. But the true coming of age is in being able to accept the choices made by our parents, and forgiving them if their choices were often flawed, accepting that they did the best they could. Gary Farmer was excellent as always in the role of the father. And Adam Beach has really matured as an actor. A great cast of important and well known supporting actors made this movie both real and special. Sherman Alexie proves he can put together a screenplay that holds that magical blend of Indian humor and tragedy in a framework of charters so well developed that I know I've met them before. Alexi is a masterful story teller. It's a shame that this movie is not in wide spread distribution in theaters. Hopefully it will get the visibility it deserves in video rental and sales.
How do we forgive our fathers? June 22, 2005
B. Berthold (Hungary, Europe)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
A goliath of a question from a David of a film. I first saw this film some two years ago and at that time it seemed like an indigenous Thelma and Louise. Quaint and light, nothing too shattering. Then recently, inspired by Pow-Wow Highway, I decided to dust off the old VCR and give this film another chance. And I'm glad I did because Smoke Signals has more than meets the eye. A lot more.
It takes place in a very forgotten corner of America within America, the reservation. To be precise, the Coeur D'Alenes Reservation of Northwest Washington. Here, KREZ radio keeps the inertia and despair at bay with the occasional traffic reports, 'Two cars passed by this morning,'and some very witty one-liners, 'It's a great day to be indigenous.' Everything is bit different than in that 'foreign' land of the United States. As one great scene shows, don't despair if your car has gear problems, drive it in reverse. Here, writer Sherman Alexie provides a piercing metaphor on how the Native American has fought off assimilation. By doing it their way.
The film centers around two boyhood friends who have grown up among broken families. Victor is the stereotypical Indian macho. Plaid short, jeans, boots and beautiful hair blowing in the breeze, he hides his childhood anger amidst scowls of contempt. As he instructs his friend, Thomas, 'You gotta look stoic if you want to be a real Indian!' Thomas is anything but stoic. With coke-bottle glasses and pony-tail braids, Thomas is as kind and thoughtful as his 'unwarrior-like' appearence suggests. Although not brothers by blood, fate soon corrects that. It all starts when Victor's mercurial, alcoholic father, Arnold Joseph (once again Gary Farmer steals the show) drunkenly and accidentally sets Thomas's house ablaze. His parents doomed, they throw little Thomas out the window, where the drunken Arnold barely catches him. What a start to life. Saved by the person who caused your parents' death. Such is Thomas' beginning. Raised by his grandmother, he nonetheless shares a special relationship with Victor's dad. It is no wonder that Arnold takes special care of Thomas, often neglecting Victor in the process. Eyre does a beautiful job of interweaving the present with scenes from the boys' childhood especially with those flashbacks of drunken family parties where the defiant Victor tries to understand his blurred parents.
The morning-after daze clears up, the arguments set in, and once again little Victor is the victim of mom and dad's quarrelling. Tormented by their dismal lifestyle, Arnold decides to escape and sets out for the desert with his pick-up, leaving mother and child to fend for themselves. And this is where the journey begins. Victor (and Thomas) soon learn of Arnold's unexpected death. His ashes are waiting for his sons. So, they decide to Greyhound their way to dad. One dad and two very different sons. Victor sees the trip as an unpleasant necessity. Bring home a cowardly, abusive drunk. For him, Dad meant only painful punches and beer-breath. For Thomas, Arnold was the beer-bellied Santa Claus who picked him when he was down, who took him to Denny's for the Big Breakfast. Two sons, one father. Eventually they make it to the Phoenix trailer park where Arnold lived in desert solitude. Here they meet Suzy Song, Arnold's friend(girlfriend?) who tells of their father's last days. Days filled with regret and remorse over having abandonned his family, over having caused the deaths of Thomas' parents, over having made so many mistakes. Arnold came to the desert to put on the ash-cloth, to clean himself, to understand himself and finally, to forgive himself. Suzy tells Victor who his father really was: yes, a weak man, tormented by his demons, but also a good man who loved his sons and hungered to see them again. Victor is then left with a hard choice: carry his meaningless resentment forever or forgive and accept his father.
Needless to say, this film has a gold mine of messages in it. And a lot of wisdom for us all. It's more than just a 'road movie.' Or better yet, it is what a road movie should be. A painful and joyful journey towards a definite goal. Smoke Signals takes us back to our own childhood and teaches us about what awaits us there in the desert. Reconciliation. Peace. And most of all, a way back to the love that was always there. I recommend this film to all especially to those fathers and sons who haven't yet travelled this road. Watch those smoke signals before there's a fire!
Smoke Signals was powerful and beautiful! September 19, 2000
A Yaqui Indian (CA, USA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I found the film to have a deeply spiritual message. Things that bring suffering into the world don't always have to be evil. In being unskillful, in not appreciating the ramifications of actions, people can create the conditions of suffering. This is a story about how foolish actions and angry attitudes can harm us and those we love. It tells about how acceptance of the weaknesses within human beings can help us to forgive them and bring us peace. Learning to love an ordinary human being, despite deep pain and disappointment, brings inner freedom. The character of Thomas, who suffered just as terrible a loss as Victor, demonstrated a calm and peaceful spiritual maturity. The stories he told may have been a stretch, but the love that was in them was insight. Why would anyone think that grieving or death should be cinematic or unique? The ending scene shows Victor finding the love that was hiding behind his pain and rage. In his grief, because love is also vulnerability, Victor had to give up the mask of toughness. It is a movie about manhood and reconciliation between fathers and the men that sons become.
If I could give more stars, I would October 27, 2001
B. Merritt (WWW.FILMREVIEWSTEW.COM, Pacific Grove, California United States)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
After watching several hollywood remakes of movies that never should have been remade (which were absolutely terrible and seem to be continuing!), I picked up a copy of this movie at the local video store on a whim hoping to find something worth my viewing time. I was not to be disappointed.Smoke Signals is the story of a boy, Victor Joseph, who is a native american, dealing with his ties to his father in a society as alien to many Europeans as any sci fi author could portray. The story weaves its way through Joseph's life, from birth, to coming of age and dealing with the death of his father. It also deals with the world of friendship, talismanism, cowboys versus 'indians,' and redemption of all of these things...and more. If you are expecting to see big name actors in this movie, then I'm sorry to say that you will be sorely disappointed. The only 'big name' actor I saw was Tom Skerritt and he did a poor job. However, the other actors (almost all of whom are native americans) play their parts incredibly well, pulling you into their lives, and tugging at your spirit and heart. If you're tired of the 'hollywood' junk out there, and want to see something fresh and rejuvenating, pick up this movie. Not only did I rent the movie, but soon after I'd finished watching it I went out and purchased it to keep on my DVD shelf. Excellent, excellent, excellent.
Poetry in Motion June 11, 2002
leslies_library (MI United States)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Sherman Alexie's beautiful prose becomes poetry in motion in the film "Smoke Signals". Performances by the entire cast are top notch, with special recognition noted for Adam Beach (Victor Joseph) and Evan Adams (Thomas Builds-the-Fire), the two leading roles.Smoke Signals offers a glimpse of contemporary life on the Coeur d'Alene Indian reservation in northern Idaho. While the film holds special appeal to viewers interested in Indian culture, it simultaneously transcends cultural differences with its universal themes of family, friendship, loss, grief and forgiveness. Although a comedy in part, this movie is truly a "soulful journey" as portrayed in its trailer. Listen carefully to the beautiful soundtrack. The melancholy vocals of Jim Boyd (lyrics co-authored with Sherman Alexie) say as much as the script. Your journey will not be over until the last credit rolls, accompanied by the haunting acappella singing of the "Forgiving Our Fathers Suite" by Ulali. Watch this movie. Listen to the soundtrack. Read "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven". Your life will never be the same.
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