Smoke Signals
(1998)
★ 6.8 IMDb · 117 votes
Year: 1998
Runtime: 89 мин
Country: United States of America
Director: Chris Eyre
Cast: Адам Бич, Evan Adams, Irene Bedard, Гэри Фармер, Танту Кардинал, Коуди Лайтнинг, Simon Baker, Monique Mojica, John Trudell, Elaine Miles
Plot
Young Native American man Thomas is a nerd in his reservation, wearing oversize glasses and telling everyone stories no-one wants to hear. His parents died in a fire in 1976, and Thomas was saved by Arnold. Arnold soon left his family, and Victor hasn't seen his father for 10 years. When Victor hears Arnold has died, Thomas offers him funding for the trip to get Arnold's remains.
Now young adults both floundering in life, native Americans Victor Joseph and Thomas Builds-the-Fire grew up together and still live on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in Idaho. Despite masculine and athletic Victor not only not considering slight, bespectacled Thomas a friend but being quite annoying in Thomas never having had much of a filter, especially as he tells one story after another, the two will be forever tied together in Victor's father, Arnold Joseph, having saved Thomas when he was an infant from a house fire after an Independence Day party 1976 that killed Thomas' parents. That tie is also despite Arnold having left the reservation about ten years ago to live in a trailer outside of Phoenix as Victor's mother, Arlene Joseph, kicked him out due to his drinking and violent behavior. As such, Victor and Thomas view Arnold differently, Victor with anger and love, the latter due to their blood ties, and Thomas with reverence. When Victor and Arlene learn that Arnold has just died, Victor, with he and Arlene not having the money, feels somewhat forced to accept Thomas' offer to fund his trip to Phoenix to deal with Arnold's belongings and retrieve his cremated remains, Thomas' only stipulation that he be able to come along on the trip. In their concentrated time together on the road trip, including some time with Arnold's next door neighbor Suzy Song who arguably knew more about the true Arnold than anyone else, Victor and Thomas may come to some new understandings about their relationship and about their thoughts concerning Arnold.