Smoke Signals

Director:  Chris Eyre
Length:  89 min.
Released:  1998

Not very many films portray life as a Native American from an Indian perspective, and few take place in modern day.  Smoke Signals is a rare gem, because it is not a film about Indians but about life, about trying to figure out who you are and whether to be proud of or humiliated by your past.

The story centers on the relationship between Victor and Thomas, best friends on the reservation where they live in Eastern Washington.  Thomas is a natural-born storyteller, and Evan Adam's narrative style and voice fluctuations are captivating.  Adam Beach is a familiar face, and he does an excellent job conveying Victor's angst.  

Thomas is an orphan raised by his grandmother who views Victor's father as a hero.  Victor only sees the alcoholism, abuse and eventual abandonment when his father left.  Thomas convinces Victor to travel south to Arizona and find him again, and the two embark on a road trip adventure to salvage the relationship before it's too late.

Victor and Thomas perceive themselves differently, a thread which carries throughout the film.
Victor instructs Thomas how to conform to expectations of what it means to be "Indian".  Smiling Thomas with glasses is not the stoic Indian Victor thinks one must be.  Other potential sources of conflict are met with humor, and told from a perspective of a generation far removed from the emotional and physical attachment once felt.  This direct confrontation of stereotypes points out their inaccuracies, relieves tension and moves the characters beyond the token status minorities usually receive.

As road trip films often do, it's more about the journey than the destination, and along the way Victor finds peace with himself and his father.  Thomas also discovers his place in the world.  Smoke Signals is funny, poignant, and informative.  It won many awards at independent film festivals.

The woman on the poster is a minor character, and I find it unfortunate that a film about two young men feels the necessity to show a female just to garner sex appeal.  I wish we could see Evan Adam's "frybread power" t-shirt more clearly.

Director Chris Eyre (himself a member of the Cheyenne/Arapaho nation) collaborated with Sherman Alexie (a highly regarded poet, essayist, and public speaker who grew up on an Indian reservation in Eastern Washington state) to turn one of Alexie's short stories into a film.  (Alexie's following project was his directorial debut, The Business of Fancydancing, based on a collection of his poetry, also about modern Indians in Washington.)