Great Story Makes ‘Smoke’ Fun To Watch
If you’re tired of watching the same old movie plots, themes and characters over and over again, make a trip to the Magic Lantern to see “Smoke.”
This critically acclaimed film, directed by Wayne Wang, deals with the small pleasures of smoking and story-telling, reminding us that such “sinful” things are becoming endangered in our society. Despite a presence of a message, “Smoke” is pure indulgence.
“Smoke” centers around Auggie Wren (played brilliantly by Harvey Keitel) and his Brooklyn cigar store. The characters that filter in and out of the store include Paul, a writer (and a role in which William Hurt manages to be kind of animated); Rashid, a troubled but very real youth; and Ruby, an ex-girlfriend of Auggie’s.
After Rashid stops Paul from walking in front of a bus, Paul lets the kid sleep in his apartment because Paul thinks he’s homeless. Soon enough, Paul finds out that Rashid, though good natured, is a skilled liar, and the movie begins to revolve around Rashid’s little psycho drama.
Rashid vanishes from Paul’s apartment and goes to find his father, whom he hasn’t seen in 12 years. But Rashid will not reveal his true identity to anyone in the movie; in fact, his real name isn’t even Rashid.
The smoke clears for one moment when Paul and Auggie force Rashid to deal with reality, and then the film deals with the raw anger deception can produce.
But the air does not stay clear for long. The movie ends with an amazing story Auggie tells Paul as they blow smoke at each other. The veil of fabrication is raised again, but this time we see its merits and its innocence.
Like “Pulp Fiction,” “Smoke” has chapters. But if “Pulp Fiction” played like a cheap novel, “Smoke” plays like good literature. The richness of the characters and the easy, unconscious flow of the narrative make this drama a pleasure to watch.
All the actors handle their parts well with the exception of Ashley Judd as Auggie’s crack-head daughter. But she didn’t have much to work with and she’s a very minor part of the film. In fact, if I had to name one complaint with “Smoke,” it would be with the subplot involving Ruby and the crack-head daughter. It’s not very intriguing and it doesn’t seem necessary for the whole of the movie. None of the major characters in this movie are bad guys. The only real conflict is in the shifting nature of vice. Though the smoke drifting through the movie sometimes seems unhealthy, there is no question that the film finds it essentially pure.
Whether you agree or disagree, the question is certainly interesting and the way the discussion is played out is undeniably fun to watch.
Grade: A