johncpickens Excellent film funny poignant beautifully filmed well directed. An excellent film worth watching, worth owning. Some have criticized the dialog. It was written by Indians. Some have stated it is not a very good movie. It is an excellent work. Well edited, well directed, well acted. I am not going to go through the list of naysayers. I will just stay they do not understand .Now lets get down to it. This is an Indy film totally made by Native Americans. That said there are things that will be lost on most of the audience. It is well scripted, well acted, and has a great sense of humor. Evan Adams is truly amazing he actually took and portrayed his character from someone that he knew and made the character believable, Frankly, he should have been given an award. For me he is the true or the epitome of an actor. He brings his character, which could have remained a flat story teller, to life. Excellent job Evan.For the direction, the characters were believable, the film flowed nicely, with the changes from one time period to present day flawless. Excellent! The actors knew the story and knew their characters and portrayed them well. Again with Evan Adams being excellent.For those that had low opinions please read the book, then get to know real Indians. You may learn something interesting. For those of you that know me, then you know that I truly believe that this is an excellent film and that I would not steer you wrong. It is a film worth watching. It is a film worth going out and spending 20 bucks for. It is a film that belongs in any collectors library, because it is that epic and that well done.My reaction to this film, if you haven't figured it out now is in one word, EXCELLENT. It has it's 5 stars and deserves more. John

BethDeath Smoke Signals is a prime example of how a great movie can be made on a low budget. One can describe Smoke Signals as the story of two young Native American men, Victor and Thomas, setting out on a road trip from Idaho to Arizona to bring the ashes of Victor's father home. However, it is much more than that. Smoke Signals is a film with an enthralling and complicated story. It has a good sense of humor and a flair for the dramatic. The personalities of the two main characters, Victor and Thomas, are mirrored in the ever-changing tone of Smoke Signals. Victor (Adam Beach) is often sullen, bitter, and quiet; while Thomas (Evan Adams) is usually happy-go-lucky, kindhearted, and loquacious. This movie touches on almost the whole range of human emotion. Every time I see this film I am engrossed by it. In fact, I find something new to love about it with every viewing. Smoke Signals always leaves me happy, hungry for fry bread, and singing about John Waynes teeth.

parablestoday Victor, a young Native American boy, is asked by his parents "who is your favorite Indian?" His response is "nobody." They think he is kidding; they hope he would at least say his father is his favorite Indian. After asking him a couple more times he yells "NOBODY!" When he grows up he feels that no one can be trusted and carries the hopelessness and bitterness of a displaced people. This film ultimately becomes a journey film where two Native Americans try to overcome generations of displacement by placing their hope in a better tomorrow.Themes and Images Fire and Ash. The film opens and closes with fire and ash. Thomas, Victor's nerdy friend, says they were both born from fire and ash. I feel the need to re-watch this film with more understanding of the four elements because I do not think that I have fully grasped the symbolism of fire and ash in this film. The fire and the ash imagery represents their heritage but in a very real sense it also represents Victor's Father, Arnold. It is Arnold who burned the house down to ash. He hit Victor at times but one time he saved Thomas from a fire which gave them different ideas about Arnold and subsequently their heritage. They are also headed on this journey to retrieve Joseph's ashes.The Road. The "how long will it take till we get there" scene encapsulated the Native American plight. Thomas appeared to be rambling but he actually gave us a spark notes version of Native American history and ended it with Arnold. Great scene! Director Chris Eyre uses the road movie genre magnificently. The Road movie only requires one goal and permits poetic scenes like this to symbolize a generation at a crossroads.Phoenix. Their journey ends at Phoenix, Arizona. Due to the fire and ash imagery, I cannot help but think that this film also alludes to the mythical Phoenix bird as they come to retrieve Joseph's ashes. The myth originates from Egypt and tells about how an eagle like bird burns into ash and is reborn every 500 years or so… The Phoenix crest shows a bird surrounded by fire but unharmed. The Phoenix woman matches this image when she sets Joseph's place on fire; she's surrounded by flames but unharmed. This cross cuts with Victor on the bridge; out of Joseph's ashes Victor is reborn.Forgiveness When Victor throws the ashes off the bridge and into the river, he not only lets out a primal scream but he also lets out all the bitterness and hopelessness he carried with him since he was a child. The last line of the movie is Thomas asking "if we forgive our fathers, what is left?" Like the road scene, Thomas poetically asks a general question about forgiving the atrocities perpetrated on the Native Americans by past generations. If you put the questions together they sound even more poetic: "if we forgive our fathers, what is left… how long… till we get there?" http://parablestoday.blogspot.com/2010/01/smoke-signals.html

Ibrahim 90 Smoke Signals, film directed by Chris Eyre, is one of the greatest drama productions. The film, first presented in 1998, represents the current life of the Native Americans. The actors of this drama effectively embodied the different characters. For instance, Evan Adams as Thomas has inimitable ambiance and a great sense of humor which lids him to play a key role in the film. On the other hand, Adam Beach as Victor is one of the film stars who play the opposing character of Thomas, a serious and formal man. Smoke Signals is the first Native American film production, including actors, writer, and director. In addition, the film received several awards between 1998 and 1999 from different organizations. The film mainly focuses on Thomas and Victor, who are the key characters of the movie, and their life in a Native American reservation in Idaho. Victor is a basketball player and Thomas is a storyteller. Both of them are linked with Gary Farmer as Arnold who is Victor's father. In the beginning of the film, Arnold rescues Thomas when he was a baby from a house fire that killed his parents. After that, Thomas start treating Arnold as a father or a role model, but Victor and his mother were suffering from Arnold since he was alcoholic and he treated them violently. As a result, Arnold leaves his house and the reservation to go to Phoenix and complete the rest of his life there. A couple of years later, Arnold dies and leaves his properties in Phoenix. Therefore, Victor headed Phoenix in order to get his father's possessions and Thomas asked him to be his travel meet. At this trip Victor and Thomas faced many adventure events which make them closer than their childhood. Victor started to convince Thomas in order to change his appearance to be more as Native American and Thomas accepted. When they arrived to Phoenix, Thomas and Victor met Suzie who was Arnold's friend. Suzie tried to change Arnold image in Victor's mind by telling him the truth about the fire that Arnold made when he was drunk which caused the death of Thomas's parents. The film Smoke Signals is highly qualified production in all aspects. One of those great aspects is the film main story. The film was written by Sherman Alexei who writes the story in a logical way that makes it greatly reliable and simple. The well linked events of the story serve to a greater understanding of the Native American issues. A good example of these issues is the trouble relationship between father and son. Although this movie was filmed in the late nineties, the effects are quite surprising. Another interesting aspect of the movie is the cast. The cast were not Hollywood stars, but they preformed their parts well. Instead of hiring regular actors, the director chose to hire Native Americans to play the role or to simply to be themselves. Smoke Signals is a great film since it has carries a message, something which current movies lack. I believe that Native Americans are living in sort of limitation since they are living on a reservation that is under developed comparing it with other American civilization. The movie reflects a different kind of life style with a mix of values which shows us that people with different values can still live together and perhaps the differences are makes us more united. Considering the date of production and that it is the first movie made by Native Americans, I believe they did an overall good work that is why I would rate it with 4 stars.