The vitals:
Tuesday, 9/24
7:00 ~ Doors
7:30 ~ SMOKE SIGNALS

Smoke Signals follows two young men on the road, Victor (Adam Beach), a jaded and angry young man and his reluctant friend Thomas (Evan Adams), a dweeby but well meaning boy from childhood. Leaving the Rez for the first time, they embark on a journey to exhume the ashes of Victor’s late father, a man he found to be a massive disappointment, but Thomas found to be a hero. 

Sweeping at Sundance, this film certainly embodies all the tropes of a ’90s indie film, it will break your heart and make you laugh, all while wrapping you in the warmth of the Western sun, lulling you to sleep with the rhythms of a bus on the road.

And while Adam Beach was one of my first forever crushes, my love for this film is actually a love letter to Thomas, one of my favorite characters ever committed to celluloid. He’s a boy with no social awareness, no sense of style, and unlike victor, no chip on his shoulder. A stunning example of optimism and gratitude for everything that has come before him. This film also has the inimitable Irene Bedard as a gentle and soothing guest role (though the film poster would have you believe she was the lead). Known for examining and smashing centuries of harmful stereotypes, Chris Eyre’s SMOKE SIGNALS allows its leads the space to learn and grow from each other and pick up the pieces of a shattered childhood.

—Emily Basma

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