Reely Bernie Faves: Smoke (1995)

No time like the present, man.

I remember when my high school buddy asked me, “Do you want to see a movie where all they do is talk?” It was my sophomore year, and such a question intrigued me because I’ve always had an inclination toward minimalism in movies.

With a fair share of campy horror and Reagan-era action on one end, I sought the opposite in quieter indie flicks no one had heard of.

Most of these micro budget wonders simply placed their actors and actresses in a room and just had them talk. I soaked it up and enjoyed gems like Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992), Kevin Smith’s Clerks (1994), Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies (1996), Neil LaBute’s In the Company of Men (1997), anything Hal Hartley, earlier Noah Baumbach, Whit Stillman, and Tom DiCillo. Sometimes, less is more. Focusing on the script over the light on the screen became my new fascination in the late 90s.

Smoke is about telling stories that bridge better days of the past to those of a more burdensome present. The men who hang out at the Brooklyn smoke shop on Park West and 16th are in their late 50s, and apparently, that is the best time to divulge secrets over a smoke.

Writer Paul Benjamin (William Hurt) tells the story of Sir Walter Raleigh who bets “Queen Bessie” he can weigh smoke. Then, there’s the tale of the son who is able to see his father frozen in ice at the same age. Yet, nothing beats Auggie’s (Harvey Keitel) story about how he came to possess his beloved camera. The camera itself tells stories as Auggie takes the same shot of his smoke shop on the corner at the same time of day.

I became so infatuated with Smoke’s script that I started reading everything Paul Auster. Come to find out that Auster’s novels, short stories, and screenplays are all about coincidence and just getting by on the streets of NYC. His screenplay for Smoke was a match made in heaven for Director Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club). Apparently, Wayne guided meditations for his actors before each take and encouraged them to reflect in silence right after they heard “Action.” The whole intention was to create a natural coincidence.

No time like the present, man.

Within the dialogue-heavy confines of smoke-filled rooms, these men reflect on issues of abandonment, addiction, regret, and death. In the gaps—believe it or not—are moments of natural hilarity. Only when the talking and laughs subside does the movie take a sobering turn.

There’s the scene when young Rashid (Harold Perrineau) exposes a monumental, earth-shattering secret to Cyrus (Forest Whitaker), and after the expected screaming reaction, Director Wang cuts to our four protagonists (Paul, Auggie, Rashid, and Cyrus) sitting at a picnic table under a tree with their mouths shut, enjoying the quiet breeze. Some time has passed. One by one (except for young Rashid), the men take out a smoke and a light. Paul offers Cyrus a cigarillo, but Cyrus does one better and provides two giant stogies. It’s a peace offering. The cigars are enormous. It’s kind of funny, and no words are necessary.

This is one of those overlooked 90s indies that you would see in the middle of the New Release wall at Blockbuster Video among the mainstreams. There would only be one copy available. Today, there’s no excuse to not rent/stream Smoke right now.

Please let me know what you think, or if you’ve seen it already!

By the way, you can also watch Blue in the Face, the scrappy, instant follow-up to Smoke in which similar actors and new actors (including Michael J. Fox) improvise a rough script and just kind of let loose in the smoke shop while Paul Auster takes a swing at directing.

Reely Bernie Faves:

1. Amadeus (1984)

2. Magnolia (1999)

3. Poltergeist (1982)

4. Pulp Fiction (1994)

5. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

6. The Godfather Part II (1974)

7. Weekend at Bernie’s (1989)

8. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

9. Goodfellas (1990)

10. Nosferatu (1922)

11. Pollock (2000)

12. Kicking and Screaming (1995)

13. Jaws (1975)

14. Fargo (1996)

15. Citizen Kane (1941)

16. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

17. The Endless Summer (1966)

18. Back to the Future (1985)

19. Angel Heart (1987)

20. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

21. The Goonies (1985)

22. Trainspotting (1996)

23. King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

24. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

25. Bambi (1942)

26. The Paradise Lost Trilogy (1996-2011)

27. Psycho (1960)

28. Parenthood (1989)

29. Swingers (1996)

30. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

31. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

32. Smoke (1995)

33. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

34. A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

35. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

36. City of God (2002)

37. 1917 (2019)

38. Black Swan (2010)

39. School of Rock (2003)

40. Mulholland Drive (2001)

41. Groundhog Day (1993)

42. If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

43. The Greatest Showman (2017)

44. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

45. The Florida Project (2017)

46. Cinema Paradiso (1988)

47. So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)

48. Shadowlands (1993)

49. Steve Jobs (2015)

50. ¡Three Amigos! (1986)