Catherine
Louis-Charles
December
10, 2017
Professor
Bomboy
HUM
101
Film
Critique
Critique of Smoke Signals
I have chosen to critique the movie
Smoke Signal written by Sherman Alexie and directed by Chris Eyre. This film
was made to invalidate the image viewers have had of Native Americans through
Hollywood or the Anglo-Americans. Smoke Signal inspects the essence of
stereotypes of Native Americans in favored films by solemnly taxing them and
making fun of the stereotypes through parables and oral storytelling traditions. What makes the movie stands out for me is the
fact that the characters where played by Native American actors.
The two main characters in the film
demonstrate the peace that can be found in forgiveness. The movie has many characters and many
messages. The main message of this movie is about forgiveness. The film follows
the two main characters Victor Joseph and Thomas Build-the-Fire from the Coeur
d’Alene Indian reservation in Oregon as they travel to Phoenix, Arizona to
retrieve the ashes and belongings of Victor’s father who had passed away.
Years earlier, Arnold Joseph
(Victor’s dad), had unintentionally set fire to Thomas’s parent’s home during a
4th of July party. He managed to save both
Thomas and his son Victor when they were just babies. The flash back scene of
his father driving away was heartbreaking as the young victor chased the old truck
begging his dad not to leave. Victor grew to resent his father for being an
abusive alcoholic and for abandoning him and his mom. Thomas offered to
financially help Victor get to phoenix, if Victor allows him to accompany him.
As they journey to Phoenix, Thomas helps Victor comes to terms with his
father’s memories and he later forgave his father Arnold.
There are many quotes that shows
Thomas’ quirky sense of humor as he dishes out life lessons and forgiveness
through story telling. Thomas and Victor deal with losses in different
ways. Victor’s is stoicism and denial,
and Thomas through mysticism and legend.
In the beginning of the movie Thomas quotes “you know, some children
aren’t children at all. They are just
pillars of flames that burns everything they touch. And there are some children
who are pillars of ash and falls apart when you touch them. Me and Victor, we were children of flame and
ash”. My take on that quote is that
“flames” and “ash” represent the characters personalities. Victor is volatile and
ready to erupt at any moment because he is so full of anger; anger that has
been pent up since his father left him at a very young age. “Ash” is the product of a flame. Ash represents Thomas who has survived a fire
at a young age and grew up looking at life and making the best of it. Victor’s
father Arnold was a flame who became an ash when he came to terms with his
alcoholism and mistakes.
Though
Victor pokes fun and ridiculed Thomas for the way he is and the things he says,
Thomas never cease his incessant chatter regarding Arnold Joseph (Victor’s
dad). Both men have very different views on the character Arnold Joseph. Victor
remembers his dad as an occasional abusive alcoholic, and the man who abandoned
him and his mom. Thomas chose to
exaggerate the memory of the man who saved him from a fiery death years earlier
as a hero. Thomas tell many tall tales about Arnold’s prowess and
undertaken. Thomas’ stories are a
constant irritant to Victor. For
instance, the scene where the two young men were trying to hustle a ride from
two Native American girls who were in a car that could only be driven backwards
and one of the young ladies ask for a story and Thomas obliges “Back then
Arnold Joseph was a hippy- but that was okay because most hippies were tryin'
to be Indians anyways... and he stood there with peace signs splashed across
his face like war paint... and the sign beside him said 'make love not war'
just as he proceeded to beat the fucking shit out of a national guard
officer... they charged him with attempted manslaughter, then they plea
bargained it down to assault and battery and then they plea bargained it down
to being Indian in the 21st century”. Thomas places Arnold in a brave
light. Another time in the movie he
states “Hey Victor! I remember the time your father took me to Denny's. It was
afternoon you know. But I still had the Grand Slam Breakfast. Two eggs, two
sausages, two pieces of bacon, and two pancakes. And some juice. And milk. Some
days, it's a good day to die. And some days, it's a good day to have
breakfast.” Here Thomas seems to be saying that life can be good at times. Enjoy it when you have it, as in eating a
bountiful breakfast. In other words,
enjoy life to the fullest.
Life on the reservation seems bleak,
confound with hopelessness, and very dull.
On one scene, for example, where the character Lester Fallsapart is
giving the traffic report while sitting on top of a broken-down van in the
middle of a silent intersection, and in the background, the landscape consists
of rugged mountains with miserable tumbledown houses and meager general stores.
The scene captured life on the reservation. Though, they are not living the
“American dream”, we can still sense the peace and humor that fills their daily
lives.
The character Thomas Build-the-Fire
is a visionary and a story teller. He seems to have accepted his lot in
life. One can sense his contagious
internal peace that exudes out of him and infects others around him. On the bus
ride to Arizona, Victor tried to help Thomas become more “Indian” by telling
him to let his hair loose “because Indians are nothing without their hair”,
then he told him he must smile less and look stoic because “white people will
walk all over you if you don’t look angry”.
Thomas tried Victor’s ideas and changed his outside appearance to appease
Victor. But what Victor realizes and so
does the audience, is that Thomas is the epitome of what an “Indian” was and
is. Unlike other movies that stereotyped
Native Americans as stoic, intimidating, and savages, this film shows the
Natives in a different light. They maybe
westernized, and white-washed but “Indians” they are nonetheless, especially
Thomas Build-the-Fire. Through his story telling, Thomas imparts some great
wisdom to Victor and the audience.
At the end of the film, Victor was
able set his dad free by releasing his ashes into the wind and returned home to
his mom a happier person. Victor did
finally let go of his lifelong hate for his father. He begins to see his father
in a different light and laid down his hatred and anger and allow forgiveness
to bring him internal peace. He also conquered the grudge he had for
Thomas. Victor saw the wisdom that flows
from Thomas, and knew it was real. As the movie came to its final scene, we see
rushing waters and flowing creeks and Thomas’ voice recites a Poem written by
Dick Lourie and it goes like this “How do we forgive our fathers? Maybe in a
dream. Do we forgive our fathers for leaving us too often, or forever, when we
were little? Maybe for scaring us with unexpected rage, or making us nervous
because there never seemed to be any rage there at all? Do we forgive our
fathers for marrying, or not marrying, our mothers? Or divorcing, or not
divorcing, our mothers? And shall we forgive them for their excesses of warmth
or coldness? Shall we forgive them for pushing, or leaning? For shutting doors
or speaking through walls? For never speaking, or never being silent? Do we
forgive our fathers in our age, or in theirs? Or in their deaths, saying it to
them or not saying it. If we forgive our fathers, what is left?” This poem seems a very appropriate way to end
the film.
Works Cited
Smoke Signals. Dir. Chris Eyre. Alliance Films Inc., 1998.
Film.
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