Rating: 
Summary: Don't let the cover fool you!!
Review: This is a very important work for Native Americans. It gives us a peek into life on the Rez. Funny, heartrending, and deep. You won't regret seeing it!
Rating:
Summary: fun, family movie with great message
Review: If you have ever felt that somehow your life could be different if only your parents or ancestors or tribe or forefathers had somehow done things differently, this is a movie with a wonderful, up-lifting, freeing message. If you are part American Indian, you will appreciate the theme and subtle underlying messages even better. The movie does a great job at subtly poking fun at some American Indian stereotypes, but never too seriously, (and never insulting to us white folks!) No violence, no horror, just a beautiful, funny story that kept my family (boys ages 5-14, husband, brother and sister-in-law) interested to the very end. The cover to the VHS tape is misleading. It is a poor representation of what to expect from this movie. The girl on the cover plays a very small role. The VHS cover makes you think the movie is a cliched "road trip with two guys and a girl movie" and it is not! Thank you to the producers, writers, directors, and actors for a fine movie! Please, follow it up with more. Hey, Victor!
Rating:
Summary: THIS IS A GOOD MOVIE
Review: I FOUND THIS TO BE QUITE AN ENJOYABLE MOVIE. I HAVE SPENT OVER 2 YEARS WORKING ON VARIOUS RESERVATIONS, AND I WILL SAY THIS MOVIE TRANSCENDS ALL TRIBES. MY INDIAN FRIENDS, WHO HAVE WATCHED THIS MOVIE HAVE ENJOYED IT VERY MUCH.
WHILE SOME MIGHT SAY IT DOES LITTLE TO IMPROVE THE IMAGE OF "NATIVE AMERICANS", IT IS A GLIMPSE OF REALITY. PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE AND THIS STORY OULD FIT INTO MANY CULTURES. I AM SURE YOU WILL ENJOY IT.
Rating:
Summary: Poetry in Motion
Review: Sherman Alexie's beautiful prose becomes poetry in motion in the film "Smoke Signals". Performances by the entire cast are top notch, with special recognition noted for Adam Beach (Victor Joseph) and Evan Adams (Thomas Builds-the-Fire), the two leading roles. Smoke Signals offers a glimpse of contemporary life on the Coeur d'Alene Indian reservation in northern Idaho. While the film holds special appeal to viewers interested in Indian culture, it simultaneously transcends cultural differences with its universal themes of family, friendship, loss, grief and forgiveness. Although a comedy in part, this movie is truly a "soulful journey" as portrayed in its trailer. Listen carefully to the beautiful soundtrack. The melancholy vocals of Jim Boyd (lyrics co-authored with Sherman Alexie) say as much as the script. Your journey will not be over until the last credit rolls, accompanied by the haunting acappella singing of the "Forgiving Our Fathers Suite" by Ulali. Watch this movie. Listen to the soundtrack. Read "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven". Your life will never be the same.
Rating: 
Summary: Smoke Signals - Lots of hype, little in the way of smoke
Review: I may be all wrong, but Smoke Signals did little to improve the image of the Indian. Compare it with something like Grand
Avenue...well there just isn't a comparison!
Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss the Smoke!
Review: I always come back to this film... it is a wonderful and revealing look at human nature, present day Native American culture, and the complications found in all relationships. I can not possibly recommend it highly enough. No, it's not an action film, or a special effects showcase... It hasn't a big budget, and it is often quiet and soft. But the script is profound, and the editing is amazing. The characters are wonderful and memorable. The cast is top notch. The acting is often mesmorizing. You will laugh, but you will also be moved to tears. Thomas and Victor are as deep and profound as any characters you will ever encounter, and they haunt me to this day. You will deeply care about this movie, and become emotionally envolved with it. Find it, and watch it. Love it...
Rating:
Summary: Hard to add more than has already been said...
Review: I don't give 5 stars out easily. I consider 5 stars a "Best in Class" or tied for it. That's how I feel about this most wonderful indy flick made, produced and acted by Native Americans. You have the story plot and the gyst of everything all the other fine reviewers have said. The only thing I can add is how authentic the movie felt in portraying some of the Native American experience. My mother-in-law is native Mandan in N.D. and my visits to the rez are not too far off what the movie portrays. Even the eccentricities of various characters are not that far off. By the way, my mother-in-law makes the best fry bread in the world! ;) I firmly believe that all who view the movie will consider it a valuable part of their DVD collection and it will be played on more than a few occassions. All these five star ratings say something about this flick, folks! Trust it, you'll be glad you did!
Rating:
Summary: It is 8 AM Indian Time
Review: I remember seeing the trailer for this movie. I thought it looked interesting and wanted desperately to see it. However, this flick did not come to my neck of the woods, so I had to wait for video. I didn't know what to expect, although I have read books by Sherman Alexie in the past, I could not imagine how he could adapt any of his books to a screenplay. This movie was adapted from his book of short stories "THE LONE RANGER AND TONTO FISTFIGHT IN HEAVEN", which I also recommend. The movie starts out with a poetic narration by Thomas Builds-the-Fire, played by Evan Adams. This pivotal scene builds the story and introduces all the key players. I don't want to give too much away, but it is a very clever portrayal of two twenty-something Native American men dealing with their very different lives, as they are forced together by circumstance. Adam Beach who plays Victor Joseph is an archetypal stoic Native American man and his 'sidekick' Thomas is the stereotypical non-natives view of what an Indian should be. Alexie plays on this stark contrast which gives you moments of laughter as well as moments of reaching for the Kleenex. This movie is filled with symbolism and bits and pieces from Alexie's own life. This movie is good for children ten and above. Although I have heard younger children really like it as well, but the content may be too mature for them. Other players are: Irene Berdard, Monica Mojica and Gary Farmer...
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites of 1998
Review: There have been precious few movies about Native Americans in the last decade. Perhaps this is because the fate of the original inhabitants of this nation will forever be a sad and controversial chapter in history. Movies are a huge entertainment machine, and the subject is not usually seen as being a crowd-pleaser. Enter Smoke Signals. This delightful, off beat comedy-drama is primarily a Native Americans production. From its unique vantage point, we are shown that they do, indeed exist and that, regardless of the circumstances some of them live in, the human spirit often still triumphs. Most of the picture was filmed on a reservation in Idaho. The rest takes place in Seattle and in Phoenix. It is a fascinating portrayal of two young Coeur D'Alcoc men named Victor Joseph and Thomas Builds-the-Fire. Thomas, played by Adam Beach, is a bookish boy who is in touch with the sprit world. His parents were killed in a 4th of July fire when he was an infant. Saved by Victor's father, her was raised by his grandmother. The boys have grow up together, but could not be more different. Victor is a hot tempered jock who bears several grudges. He feels that his being born on a reservation is an enormous handicap, and he resents his father's leaving him when he was ten years old. In less capable hands, life on the reservation would appear grim, but director Chris Eyre has a gift for seeing the humor in a situation. The tribe has a radio station, for example. Every morning it has a rush hour report, which consists of a reporter sitting on top of a truck at the nearest highway and commenting on the few cars that pass buy. The truck has not moved since it broke down twenty years ago. In another instance, two teenage girls drive around in an old car which only runs in reverse. These amusing scenes gently show both the poverty and the isolation of the reservation, which is so different from the rest of American that it looks like it's in a third world country. Victor and his mother learn that his Dad has died in Phoenix. He must go there to get the remains, and he reluctantly lets Thomas accompany him. Thomas is forever telling stories about real events, but he always puts a spiritual meaning into them. This drives Victor up the wall. On the road to Phoenix, bits and pieces from their past are revealed. We learn the truth about the death of Thomas' parents, and we find out why Victor's father really left. This is done in constant but smooth shifts from present to past which. This small movie has much more to say - and says it better - than the average big budget production. Issues are addressed which make the audience more aware of the Native American experience, but the tone is objective. It allows its young heroes to take responsibility for their own actions. Adam Beach and Evan Adams are outstanding actors, and Chris Eyre directs in a straightforward and sure handed way. Some scenes may seen a little amateurish, which is due to the movie's very low budget. These few rough edges do not prevent Smoke Signals from being one of the best American independent films of 1998.
Rating: 
Summary: See this film
Review: This is a must see. It is a rarity in that it was written, produced and acted in by Native Americans themselves and is not an outsider's vision. A good antidote to all those old Hollywood movies about "Indians".
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