Comments on: Movie Review – Smoke (1995) (Mini Review)

By: Rodney

Rodney — Sun, 11 Aug 2013 01:13:25 +0000

In reply to Anita X. Mosley. Thanks Anita, for those wonderful comments! I really did enjoy the Walter Raleigh story too; reminded me of the film 15 Grams, in all honesty. Smoke isn't a bad film, I just don't think it was MY film, if that makes sense. Thanks for dropping in!

By: Anita X. Mosley

Anita X. Mosley — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 23:27:41 +0000

Every once in a while, a film comes down the pike that is so refreshing, so rich, you’d swear it was inspired by some immortal spirit who condescended to take human form in order to share her perspective with us. Smoke is one such film.Although there’s nothing particularly special about each of several main characters, seemingly picked at random off of a New York street corner, they come off as noble, even heroic, in spite of the fact that their collective problems amount to nothing more than the usual garden variety. The main character, for example (Auggie Wren, played by Harvey Keitel) is a tobacconist around whose shop the main characters revolve. He has an unusual habit: every morning, at the same time of the day, he photographs the same street corner, and puts the pictures together in a series of albums. It’s time-lapse photography on an enormous scale. He can’t explain why he does it. He just needs to do it. And it’s a really marvelous device for delivering the movie’s main theme: everything that matters, all the meaning in the world that can be condensed from holy books and vows and catechisms and poems, is right there before us. We just need to have the eyes to see it. The things we tend to dismiss as prosaic, out of familiarity, emerge from the pages of his album as special, wonderful, enchanted. There’s a great line in the movie about how Sir Walter Raleigh measured the weight of smoke. He took a cigar, weighed it, smoked it, and weighed the ash. The difference between the cigar and the ash was the weight of the smoke. Although he new nothing of the chemistry of combustion, he did the best that he could, based upon what he knew. Likewise, Smoke is a movie about people with limited knowledge and perspective. Their assumptions are often wrong; but, they do the best that they can. A small, seemingly insignificant piece of information can, and does, change everything.

By: Rodney

Rodney — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 12:47:53 +0000

In reply to Al K Hall. I thought a vignette was a french thing, and a skit was a redneck American thing.... ya know? ;)

By: Al K Hall

Al K Hall — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 09:09:45 +0000

i had to check and the one i'm thinking about is the one your buddy Vern up there was talking about, "Blue in the Face". Much better than this one. (And the author i was thinking about is Paul Auster.) As for the difference between a 'vignette' and a 'skit'...you know how think i am, but i'd say a vignette is written and a skit is performed. But that's pro'lly just me. My recent post The Wolverine (2013): A Booze Revooze Quick Shot

By: Rodney

Rodney — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 02:36:39 +0000

In reply to Al K Hall. No skits in this one, Al good buddy! Some nice vignettes, but no skits. PS: if you can explain the difference between a skit and a vignette, you'll be doing me a favor!!!

By: Rodney

Rodney — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 02:32:49 +0000

In reply to 70srichard. Don't get me wrong, I like a talky film as much as the next person; I just don't think the stories (and characters, by and large) held much interest for me. Each to their own, I guess! Thanks for dropping by, richard!!

By: Rodney

Rodney — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 02:30:35 +0000

In reply to The Vern. I am interested in catching the sequel to Smoke, Vern - from what I've read, it was received better than this film was, so I hold out hope that it's a good 'un! Agree with you on the ending, too!! Thanks for stopping by!

By: Al K Hall

Al K Hall — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 11:28:19 +0000

Wait, is this the good one? The one that's just a lot of skits written by the American guy who wrote San Francisco Chronicles? i liked that one. My recent post Cressida Bonas: The Other Royal Baby

By: 70srichard

70srichard — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 20:29:09 +0000

I liked the Christmas story in the film and I probably enjoyed the film more because I am a sentimentalist. It is slow, but that's because everything is about conversation not action. I thought it was an interesting change of pace and a nice gem from the period.

By: The Vern

The Vern — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 18:24:17 +0000

I was never a huge fan of Smoke and I prefered the improvised sequel Blue in the Face a little bit more. Yes Harvey Keitel is great in this role, as so is Channing and Hurt, but their characters are not all that memorable. The ending scene with the song by Tom Waits stands out as the best moment in that movie. My recent post As You Watch. Episode 7: The Shining Vs. Poltergeist.