Smoke

6/9/19951h 52m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ The most precious things are lighter than air. ~

Overview:

Writer Paul Benjamin is nearly hit by a bus when he leaves Auggie Wren's smoke shop. Stranger Rashid Cole saves his life, and soon middle-aged Paul tells homeless Rashid that he wouldn't mind a short-term housemate. Still grieving over his wife's murder, Paul is moved by both Rashid's quest to reconnect with his father and Auggie's discovery that a woman who might be his daughter is about to give birth.

Director:

Wayne Wang

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$7,000,000.00

Revenue:

$8,349,430.00

Key words:

smoking
robber
cigarette
laden
writer

Cast

Harvey Keitel

~ as ~

Augustus 'Auggie' Wren

William Hurt

~ as ~

Paul Benjamin

Stockard Channing

~ as ~

Ruby McNutt

Harold Perrineau

~ as ~

Thomas 'Rashid' Cole

Forest Whitaker

~ as ~

Cyrus Cole

Giancarlo Esposito

~ as ~

1st OTB Man / Tommy

José Zúñiga

~ as ~

2nd OTB Man / Jerry

Stephen Gevedon

~ as ~

OTB Man #3 / Dennis

Jared Harris

~ as ~

Jimmy Rose

Ashley Judd

~ as ~

Felicity

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

Filipe Manuel Neto
Written 2 year(s) ago
5
A set of stories, more than a story made up of stories.

This film reminded me, in a certain way, of a polite version of “Clerks”, an unorthodox comedy where everything revolves around a convenience store, a video club and two employees from those same stores. Here, everything revolves around Auggie Wren's tobacconist, who takes a picture of the shop every day, at the same time. In one of them, by chance, the deceased wife of one of the store's customers appears who, after being saved from being run over by a boy, decides to help him.

The film is discreet, does not have great cinematography resources, nor visuals. Everything here revolves around the characters, their individual stories, the way they intersect and interconnect. The script is very important for the film, but the work of the actors cannot be overlooked either. Harvey Keitel does a very worthy and well-executed job, and William Hurt, Harold Perrineau and Forest Whitaker follow him closely, so we have a good cast working hard. The big problem with this movie is that it really doesn't have much more to offer. For those who like films that are very much based on characters, their behavior, their stories, and well-written dialogues, the film is wonderful. For anyone hoping this all boils down to a story that is more than a set of stories, the film may be disappointing.