The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 9, 1998 - 15

Independent film sends 'Signals' of excellent cinema

By Ed Ibolnky
Daily Arts Witer
It seems as if many of today's
Movies have lost their direction.
During the summer, audiences flock
to large, special effects films such as
"Armageddon" and "Deep Irteact,"
leaving little room for smaller gems
such as "Smoke Signals."
And what a shame that is. "Spoke
Signals" represents one of those
smaller summer movies that people
might have heard of, but were too
busy seeing "Blade" to shell out
money for. Director Chris Eyres
rookie effort is the first major
motion picture written, directed, and
produced by Native Americans, and
an example of independent filmmak-
ing at its best. With novelist and
first-time screenwriter Sherman
Alexie - taken from his short story
collection "The Lone Ranger and
Tonto First Fight in Heaven"-- Eyre
tells a personal story of how it feels
to be indigenous in the '90s.
Gone from "Smoke Signals" are
the cliches of the savage native or
the noble savage, to which Native
Americans have been relegated in
film. Replacing this long-held
stereotype are complex characters -
showing Native Americans not as
the aggressors
or victims of
Hollywood
Westerns, but as
Smoke people.
Signals While the plot
itself is simple,
the themes
At State Theater developed are
deep and univer-
sal. Adam Beach
and Evan Adams
co-star as Victor
Joseph and
Thomas, respec-
tively. Victor's
estranged father, Arnold Joseph
(Gary Farmer in a virtuoso perfor-
mance) has passed away, and Victor
and Thomas set out on the bus to

Wolves," indicating to Victor that
Thomas has no idea how to be a real
Native American.
When Victor and Thomas finally
arrive at Arnold Joseph's home, they
meet Arnold's neighbor and only
friend Suzy Song (Irene Bedard).
Suzy paints Victor a picture of his
father he is not familiar with. In
Victor's mind, Arnold is still the
drunken, abusive father of his child-
hood. For Suzy, however, Arnold is
the kind, recovered alcoholic who
has found himself. Victor sees the
father who beat him for spilling his
beer and the man who left his moth-
er when she insisted they sober up.
Suzy knows the man who chauf-
feured her and was a surrogate father
figure.
"Smoke Signals" is made up of
small moments, however, which
really drive the movie home. On
their bus trip, two redneck cowboys
take Victor and Thomas' seats, stak-
ing claim to them and refusing to
leave. Victor and Thomas do not give
in to their aggressors and turn the
incident into a brawl between cow-
boys and Indians. Instead, they pick
up and move to other seats at the
back of the bus. Knowing violence
won't help the situation, Victor and
Thomas devise a song about John
Wayne's teeth that unnerves every-
one on the bus. In the film's best
scene, Arnold Joseph recounts a
basketball game he and his son
played against two Jesuit priests.
Gary Farmer manages to stir every
emotion as he bounces a basketball
and cries to the heavens of the day
when two Native Americans defeat-
ed their white oppressors. The
moment is captured with such grace
and power that it leaves the viewer
breathless.
While "Smoke Signals" has a dis-
tinct indigenous point of view, the
themes crossover to the masses.
Whether the film explores the effect
of Christianity on a people upon
which it was thrust, the pain of a bro-

ken home, the effect of alcoholism
on a family, or the difficulty of for-
giving loved ones, a person need not
be Native American to appreciate
this movie.
For their first full-length feature,
Alexie and Eyre deserve heaps of
praise. Alexie's script is humorous
and moving without being juvenile
or maudlin. Eyre shoots Alexie's
script beautifully and does wonders
with the actors. Evan Adams and
Adam Beach's performances are
spectacular; they portray the differ-
ent sides of reservation life. But this
film belongs to Gary Farmer whose
name is on a short list of actors who
have given Oscar-worthy perfor-
mances. It is an absolute joy to dis-
cover Farmer's art, as his character
grows throughout the film.
"Smoke Signals" is one of the
year's best films, and a must see.
After you've seen "Armageddon,"
"54" and "Blade," see why bigger sto-
rytelling always beats bigger budgets.
WOW CO AWAYI1
Paris $512
London $504
Los Angeles $205
Seattle $157
San Francisco $194
M W Travel ..,.
CIEE: Council on international
Educational Exchange
1218 South University
(Below Tower Records)
Ann Arbor
(734) 998-0200
www.councittraveL.com

Courtesy of Miramax
Irene Bedard and Adam Beaph portray Native Americans in 'Smoke Signals.'

recover his ashes. Despite the fact
that Victor hates the alcoholic father
who abandoned him and his mother,
Thomas adores him, because Arnold
saved him from a burning house
when he was a baby.
Victor, due to financial constraints
that Thomas can ease, reluctantly

agrees to let Thomas come along.
Unlike the quiet, somber Victor,
Thomas is talkative and nerdy.
Whereas Victor's hatred of his father
consumes him, Thomas is happy-go-
lucky. But this is not all that annoys
Victor about Thomas. Thomas'
favorite movie is "Dances With

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