Saw "Smoke Signals" last night. It
was pretty darn good. Only slightly formulaic, and not
self-pitying or self-aggrandizing at all.
Two Coeur d' Alene Indian young men -- Victor
Joseph and Thomas Burns With Fire -- have grown up intertwined by
an event which occurred when they were both infants. In 1976,
there was a huge house party thrown on the rez, on the 4th of
July, the White Man's Independence Day. In the middle of the
night, a mysterious fire rages through the house, killing most
within. Thomas' parents are trapped on the second floor and they
fling the infant Thomas out the window. Victor's parents,
watching the fire in disbelief and fear -- for they were
originally in the house, but escaped -- are standing outside,
Victor's mother holding the infant Victor. As the baby Thomas
flies out the window, Victor's father runs across the yard and
just barely catches Thomas in his outstretched hands. Thomas'
grandmother runs up screaming, "What's happening? What's
happened?" As the reality of the situation sinks in, she
clutches the baby Thomas to her and informs Victor's father,
"You saved my grandson's life", to which he replies,
"I didn't mean to."
There's a lot of 'I didn't mean to' in this
film. We fast forward to 1997, and back often to around 1988 or
so, when the boys are 12. Victor grows up to be sullen, paranoid,
inflamed, stoic. Thomas grows up becoming lyrical, comical,
geeky, verbose and ever-pleasing. Victor can hardly bear to be
around Thomas. And Thomas, who views Victor's dad as nearly his
only father figure, adores Victor.
When the boys are 12, Victor's father leaves --
disappears. He'd been practicing disappearing via drinking and
humor, but he finally just leaves. In the present, they receive
word that Victor's father has died, down in Arizona. Thus we
embark on a roadtrip, joining the mismatched duo on their trek to
retrieve Victor's father and his pickup truck.
I won't go any farther in describing this
movie, but you should see it. It has the requisite 'quirky'
characters popping in and out, in many cases quite hilarious, and
they're not necessarily foreseeable. There are enough surprises
to keep you interested. It's shot in a lovely manner, paying
homage to the beautiful West, both North and South. There's a
beauty of movement and unfolding of landscape that are more like
music than vision. The background music also is a lot of fun,
with the expected and haunting "Indian" formations, but
funny new twists on how "Indian" formation can be
applied to songs you think you know.
Sometimes I found myself in awe of the
cinematography; sometimes in awe of the dialogue. Thomas is a
chronicler, this is his self- or otherwise-endowed 'gift'. He's
our narrator, and Victor's conscience. Victor is complex, angry,
proud, and slightly vain. He has deep feelings, but is ashamed to
have them. Thomas feels no pain for having feelings, and is more
'in the moment' than Victor, or just about anyone else in the
film.
Having lived in the West, both North and South,
I recognized much in the way of accents (quite Canadian, up
there, ay?) and attitudes. I've known Indians in both the Midwest
and the West, and found in this movie a terrific representation
of a droll, subsurface sense of humor. Humor is, in many cases,
all rez Indians have for entertainment. It doesn't ask one to
feel sorry for anyone, though, except as one human for another.
We can, after all, be our own worst enemies, and the secrets we
cleave unto ourselves can be more onerous and despicable than any
judge or judgment.
It makes you think, this movie. It gives you a
gorgeous panoramic view of the big Country we have out There. It
has a tale to tell, of angers and hurts and what is regarded as
known, and what is and forever more may remain unknown. It's a
poem and a gift and a gratifying exploration.
