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.)

Meek's Cutoff

Director: Kelly Reichardt
Length: 104 min.
Released: 2010

Pioneers on the Oregon Trail traversed thousands of miles on foot, dreaming of a better life out West.  They often hired men with knowledge of the frontier to serve as guides and for protection.  These outdoor enthusiasts, mountain men, and outlaws had abandoned genteel society in order to be free and independent.  Their adventurous and thrill-seeking spirits contrasted with families, where the presence of women and children brought morals and social structures to new territories.

Meek's Cutoff tells the story of a small group on the Oregon Trail in 1845.  Their guide, Stephen Meek, leads the three-wagon train across dry, hot and sparse Eastern Oregon, telling them tales of his adventures in the Wild West.  His optimism and wilderness experience convince him and the others that water and the fertile Willamette Valley is within easy reach.  At that time, early in the westward movement, it was hard even for a guide to know the valley of their dreams lay hundreds of miles further west, and the Columbia River several hundred miles north.  


An encounter with an indian causes the group to question their leader and their own inner fears.  Relations between native tribes and whites were often based on experiences and stories of murder and raids on both sides.  Fear dictated behavior, and few people were aware of the diversity of tribes across North America.  Travel in stressful situations brings out true personalities, and misunderstandings and stereotypes led to a confrontation without resolution for the Meek party.  The film becomes a study in social nature and foreshadows changes in the American West.   

Panoramic scenic shots held for a long time are reminiscent of such David Lean films as Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia.  A pastel color scheme complements the characters with the world around them: beautiful, but desolate.  There are only a handful of characters, but each is memorable and plays an important role in this microcosm of society.  One of the more unique aspects of the film is its square frame, designed to represent the view from inside a woman's bonnet.  This is not a restrictive gimmick, but a thoughtful depiction of a confined viewpoint.  There are feminist overtones to the film, written by Jon Raymond and directed by Kelly Reichardt, whose previous films also explore themes of social behavior, two of which are also set in Oregon.     

The film is carefully detailed, and moves at a pace that brings you back to a different time.  Setting up camp, eating dinner in the dark, waking before dawn, walking all day and setting up a new camp clearly demonstrate the monotony of life on the trail.  It's a road movie told not with the enthusiasm of a journey's beginning, but with the hardened disillusion of being lost so near the destination.  Music used in the film is simplistic but evocative, typical of recent films set in the West.  Sound effects are natural and part of the scenery: a squeaky wagon wheel, birds hovering overhead, fabric rustling in the wind.  The ending leaves you wanting to know more about these people and their story. 

The Oregon Trail is frequently romanticized, but Meek's Cutoff depicts the reality of the journey so many people took.  Travel has become so simplified over the centuries, it's good to be reminded how difficult it used to be, when so much was up to chance.  The vast migration west may have been imperialistic, but we must still give the people who did it credit for their strength, courage and perseverance.  


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