Smoke Signals

Smoke Signals is a 1998 coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Chris Eyre from a screenplay by Sherman Alexie, based on Alexie's short story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1993). The film won several awards and accolades, and was well received at numerous film festivals. In 2018, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Plot Victor Joseph and Thomas Builds-the-Fire live on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation in Plummer, Idaho. Thomas is an eccentric storyteller and Victor is a hot-tempered young man who enjoys playing basketball. Victor and Thomas are brought together through Victor's father, Arnold. Arnold rescued Thomas as an infant from a house fire that killed his parents in 1976. Because of this, Thomas considers him a hero. On the other hand, Victor, who endures Arnold's alcoholism, domestic violence, and eventual child abandonment, regards his father with both deep love and bitter resentment. Thomas and Victor grow up together as neighbors and acquaintances, fighting with each other and simultaneously forming a close, albeit uneasy, friendship.