Smoke Signal

Uyen Doan

Deborah Schiell

Marriage and Family

3 October 2016

Reaction paper: Smoke signals

There is no denying that “Smoke signals” is a beautifully made movie with gorgeous stylization from the combination of stories, characters, acting, soundtrack to filmmaking. To be honest, “Smoke signals” is one of the most unique movies that I have ever seen. It is a movie that talks to everyone no matter what there ethnic background may be. It tackles issues of tradition, culture, family, and friendship. The film should be seen by all people, not just Native Americans. It was not only funny, but also contained its bitter, angry, sad moments, and lots of visual beauty. The director - Chris Eyre provides us the best film with a fantastic story of two young Coeur d’Alene Indian men dealing with loss and the end of childhood innocence.

Love, regret, pain, forgiveness - all of these great enduring issues abound in the film. The whole film takes place in 1998 on a Native American reservation in Coeur d’Alene, Arizona. In “Smoke signals”, Victor and Thomas, two teenagers who travel to Phoenix to collect the ashes of Victor’s father, Arnold Joseph, who left the reservation and has now died. It is with Victor and his father: love, fear, hatred, violence, and the final estrangement.

What is important and noteworthy about “Smoke Signals” is that it deals with the concerns of guiltiness and forgiveness. Since his childhood, Victor used to dislike his father’s drinking habit. He thought of his dad as a very bad person who was drunk all of the time, beat him and his mom, and then abandoned them. He always felt that it was due to him that his father left the house. This feeling of guilt was eating Victor all his life until he decides to go to Phoenix and collect his father’s ashes. It is very difficult to forgive the loved ones. Here Victor also finds it too difficult to forgive his father because of what his father did to him. Victor’s family life made him angry at the world, unable to trust others, and caused him to treat others poorly. He did not want to admit that he needed his father. Even when Suzy Song told him stories about his father, he denied everything. This shows that Victor did not want to remember his father and tried to loose all of the memories of his father hurt him and caused him pain on the inside. But during the trip, he learned more about his father from Suzy. He came to know his father tried to stop drinking and also found out he used to love him. He went back into the burning house looking for him. After seeing the picture of his family, Victor pulled out his knife and cut his hair. Perhaps cutting his hair is symbolic of appreciating his father and trying to show his devotion towards him. Once they were back on the reservation, Thomas asked again about why his father left, Victor said, “He didn’t mean to, Thomas.” He did not mean to start the fire, he did not mean to leave his family. He did not mean to hurt the people he hurt. In addition, Victor also tosses his father’s ashes into the river while screaming. This shows that Victor was finally let go of his father as well as put the past behind him and moved on with his life.

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