Thursday, September 25, 2008

Smoke Signals

Chris Eyre, 1998 (8.4*)
Sundance Audience Award
Terrific all Native American comedy that takes place on a Montana or Idaho reservation, supposedly the first all Native American production. The story becomes a road trip when Victor (Adam Beach) must get to Arizona to collect the cremated remains of his estranged father.

This is a funny and heartwarming tale about friendship, that is also offbeat and unique enough to remain interesting. Look for Elaine Miles, the Eskimo receptionist on tv's Northern Exposure, as a woman whose car only goes in reverse, so she's always driving backwards, which has to be a perfect metaphor for something, like perhaps only being able to get somewhere in the present by going into your past. Adapted from Sherman Alexie's short stories.

No comments:

Post a Comment