Smoke (1995)

Top comments

1. 

   arunraj

   great movie....... 13 years 4 months ago
2. 

   Siskoid

   Paul Auster is one of my favorite novelists, and judging from Smoke, a pretty good scriptwriter too. The chapters in this assembly of different stories about people frequenting a certain smoke shop aren't closed loops, but add characters/plots that are then part of the whole. Smoke pervades, it spreads out, it's fluid, and both Auster and director Wayne Wang (who's perfect for this kind of storytelling) are suiting form to theme in that way. An early speech about the WEIGHT of smoke as what's removed from the solid ashes of a cigar sends us into tales of absence - absent parents, absent children, absent motivations, missing limbs and eyes (Stockard Channing in an eyepatch is an amazing look) - building on that smokey theme in wonderful ways. But it's not just a formal triumph. A powerful cast draws us into the various dramas, until it feels completely natural to just listen to Harvey Keitel tell a long story that fits the theme. 2 weeks 1 day ago
3. 

   Torgo

   What a marvelous ending!
   
   Oh, and if the downvotes for gpace didn't already tell you: the movie has very little to do with Tarantino. It's very much on the dramatic side, "sense of place", more wise observations than pure comedy; fleshing out a few characters and telling us about the how of their lives, all that. 4 months 1 week ago

See all comments

Friends

Login to see which of your friends have seen this movie!