Review of Smoke Signals (1998) by Geoff C — 07 Jun 2012

A cute little film. Though, having heard about it before, I can say the film didn't quite live up to expectations. I had trouble stomaching the editing. In that regard, it felt like a quickly produced made-for-TV movie.

I also had trouble caring about the dorky sidekick. He just annoyed the hell out of me. The Irishesque accent he had made no sense, and he was immediately lost on me. Perhaps the lowest point of the film was how repetitive it was.

It kept going back to this traumatic event from the past that was the catalyst of the plot, and it put too much emphasis on that aspect of the story. Honestly, I can't say the story was too enthralling for me.

It felt a bit un articulated in places. However, what this lacked in other qualities, it did serve as a captivating insight to a culture that we sometimes tend to marginalize in our imaginations. I don't recall seeing a single eagle feather in the film.

(Though I understand feathers are still a major part of the culture.) Nor did any of them ride horses, or wear war paint. The tribes, as the film shows, have changed since the wild west era, just like mainstream society.

And the picture the film paints neither seems exaggerated or toned down. Even with the story unfolding, you get an unquestionable sense of realism, and you accept that the mundane atmosphere on the screen is what an Indian reservation must really be like.

There is not a single tinge of make believe. Even if the movie wasn't executed as well as it should have been, the film can rightfully boast a strong realism. In this, Director Chris Eyre was masterful.