Smoke Signals

PG-13

Released Jan 16, 1998

1 hr. 28 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

90%

92 Reviews

Tomatometer

82%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Arnold (Gary Farmer) rescued Thomas (Evan Adams) from a fire when he was a child. Thomas thinks of Arnold as a hero, while Arnold's son Victor (Adam Beach) resents his father's alcoholism, violence and abandonment of his family. Uneasy rivals and friends, Thomas and Victor spend their days killing time on a Coeur d'Alene reservation in Idaho and arguing about their cultural identities. When Arnold dies, the duo set out on a cross-country journey to Phoenix to retrieve Arnold's ashes.

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Critics Consensus

Smoke Signals tells a familiar story from an underrepresented point of view, proving that a fresh perspective can help subvert long-established expectations.

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Martin F

It's very close to what you can expect from a 90's drama with strong emotional moments that are borderline melodramatics but Smoke Signals is a powerful movie nonetheless. With this too underrepresented perspective, we learn the issues, culture, and heritage in native Americans reserves. It's a brilliant homage of the oral traditions as every character would take the time to tell a story true or false, with a pitch perfect narration.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/05/24

Full Review

S R

Saw this since it had to do with CDA tribe and I have been to the reservation. It was an interesting movie to see their perspective on being an Indian, but the it was tedious and not well written. It did have some good moments and characters, but it could've been more concise. Saw on delta.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/30/23

Full Review

Dave W

Love this movie. A great story of friendship, learning from your past, accepting your past and creating your own identity. Great performances all around

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/07/23

Full Review

Cecilia A

The isn't many Native American stories that depict the struggle and point of view of new age family dilemmas. I really appreciate the narrative that this movie brings and it is important story.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/28/23

Full Review

Ali N

Sometimes it's a good day to die. And sometimes it's a good day to watch Smoke Signals, Because it's a damn good movie. This is what I thought diversity in films would look like when Hollywood finally started embracing it. But diversity in Hollywood today looks nothing like Smoke Signals, Because Smoke Signals is actually good. Hollywood doesn't make good movies anymore. And now I'm wondering if they ever did, Because Hollywood didn't make Smoke Signals either.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/08/23

Full Review

Steve D

It means well but it isn't especially well done.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

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Chris Eyre

Director

Adam Beach

Victor Joseph

Evan Adams

Thomas Builds-the-Fire

Irene Bedard

Suzy Song

Gary Farmer

Arnold Joseph

Tantoo Cardinal

Arlene Joseph

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Sara Wildberger

Miami Herald

It’s the first feature film for director Chris Eyre, and his young leads are relative newcomers to the big screen, but their energy and the freshness of their point of view overcome any rough spots.

Rated: 3.5/4

Nov 8, 2023

Full Review

Eleanor Ringel Cater

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Smoke Signals is a road movie with an acid sense of humor and a heritage-ridden theme that’s as universal as it is specific.

Rated: B

Nov 8, 2023

Full Review

Ann Hornaday

Baltimore Sun

Smoke Signals may be the most delightfully quirky surprise of the summer, a shaggy-dog tale that from its opening moments... portrays the Native American legacy of pride and pain with deep emotion, grace and irreverence.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 8, 2023

Full Review

Farah Cheded

A Good Movie To Watch

Hollywood’s first Native American feature is this charming perspective-reorienting dramedy.

Mar 17, 2024

Full Review

Nanciann Cherry

Toledo Blade

Eyre and Alexie also open doors yo the reservation, exposing the tragedies as well as the whimsy, and gleefully skewering every cliché about Native Americans that Hollywood has ever perpetrated.

Rated: 3.5/5

Nov 8, 2023

Full Review

Joanna Connors

Cleveland Plain Dealer

The handsome Beach and the very amusing Adams anchor an ensemble of terrific actors, including Tantoo Cardinal as Victor's spirt-weary mother, Farmer as the troubled, guilt-ridden Arnold Joseph, and Irene Bedard as Suzy Song.

Nov 8, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

Arnold (Gary Farmer) rescued Thomas (Evan Adams) from a fire when he was a child. Thomas thinks of Arnold as a hero, while Arnold's son Victor (Adam Beach) resents his father's alcoholism, violence and abandonment of his family. Uneasy rivals and friends, Thomas and Victor spend their days killing time on a Coeur d'Alene reservation in Idaho and arguing about their cultural identities. When Arnold dies, the duo set out on a cross-country journey to Phoenix to retrieve Arnold's ashes.

Director: Chris Eyre
Executive Producer: David Skinner, Carl Bressler
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: Miramax
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 16, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 16, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.8M
Sound Mix: Surround

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