Modern American Indian life is rarely portrayed with any nuance in popular culture. Instead we tend to get historical glorification and mythmaking, like “Dances With Wolves,” or documentaries about reservation alcoholism or gambling empires.
If you want to show your young teenagers a more complex version of contemporary life for Native Americans, you can’t do better than the multifaceted “Smoke Signals.” The film, based on the writings of Sherman Alexie, is a road trip and a vision quest that wipes away centuries of stereotypes drifting around like so many eagle feathers on the wind.
Victor is an angry teenager when we meet him, furious and bored at the same time with his limited life on the reservation in northern Idaho. He is often cruel to his Indian-nerdy friend Thomas, who has a sunnier outlook on life.
We flash backward and forward to fill in the plot. Thomas’ parents died in a house fire after a night of heavy Fourth of July drinking — one of the many ironies that underlie Alexie’s humor, with Indians self-destructively celebrating the “independence” of the white men who later stole all their land.
Victor’s father was involved in the fire, either as a hero or as a villain — we’re not quite sure. After the fire and throughout Victor’s childhood, his father drinks heavily and abuses his own family.
When Dad dies, Victor and Thomas set off from Idaho to Phoenix to collect family belongings and search for some meaning. Alexie and director Chris Eyre never let the proceedings deteriorate into cliche.
“Smoke Signals” may do a better job than any recent film balancing hardship and good humor in its portrayal of reservation life. It’s a slice of America you rarely see.
There is some mild swearing in “Smoke Signals,” and scenes of drinking, fathers smacking their children and their wives, and a tastefully handled scene of the fateful fire. It’s fine for ‘tweens and teenagers, and a great movie for parents.
“Smoke Signals”
Rated: PG-13, for mild profanity and possibly disturbing scenes of drinking and domestic violence.
