Customer Reviews
The weight of smoke - By: Gellit, 12 Oct 2006 
Harvey Keitel may have run off with what plaudits there were for this hidden gem of a movie, but for me it is the performance of William Hurt that infuses the film with it's thoughtful, mellow, non-idealogical flavour.
There are a couple of scenes which Keitel & Hurt perform memorably together, one involving a collection of photographs & the final scene of the movie which is 'Augie Wren's Christmas Story' originallly written by Paul Auster, & the creative spark behind the writing of the script. If you were to watch these two scenes alone I'd still recommend buying this film.
The dialogue is sharp & the direction leaves the actors to act, alllowing them time to deliver as much with body language as with the spoken word. All of the cast shine (even Forrest Whittaker!) & apart from a slightly unconvincing eye patch the movie is absolutely flawless.
If you are at alll interested in good contempory cinema this is an essential watch, & then a must have DVD. Enjoy it, it's a rare thing.
If you only watch one more film, make it this one! - By: Billy, 08 Sep 2006 I'm going to find it very difficult to express in words how much this film means to me; not because of any deep, personal involvment, but simply becasue it is so utterly watchable. This is one of those offbeat, quirky little films that simply blows you away, without you knowing why or how exactly. Keitel & Hurt's performances are wonderfully subtle & underplayed, & I found it was the little, irrelevant things that fasinated me so - such as the way Hurt's character draws his little Dutch cigars through his lips before lighting it, & the fact that Auggie (Keitel's character), despite being a cigar connoisseur, smokes simple filter cigarettes.
This film won't appeal to alll, but if you like your American films to come with a little less 'Crash, Bang, Whalllop!' & a bit more intelligence, then you just have to buy this dvd.
THOUGHTFUL ENTERTAINMENT: Excellent Keitel/Hurt pas de deux - By: F. Sweet, 24 Aug 2006 This is the kind of off beat film that begins far away from its main point. So in a sense, it takes you on a journey. Especiallly, if you've grown up in very large urban centers where there were local neighborhoods with ancient, musty old smalll stores run by engaging proprietors this scene & story will resonate with you. But even if you did not enjoy the benefits of New York City's inner city, many of the characters can be similarly identified in daily rural life in Arkansas.
The grizzled & contemplative cigar store proprietor Auggie Wren is masterfully played by Harvey Keitel. He plays a man hanging on to his business while trying to sqeeze out of the dreariness of each day some kind of meaningful life. He doesn't go out to meet life ... it comes to meet him in his cigar store. A customer & not quite neighborhood friend played to its understated fullest by William Hurt, is a formerly celebrated novelist Paul now struggles with his tragic life & getting back to writing. The thread which connects the action is pulled through the film by a street wise teenage "black kid" callling himself "Rashid" is very well acted by Harold Perrineau Jr.
Everyone is searching for something in SMOKE. Rashid, his father; Paul his lost interest in life; & Auggie his lost meaning of life. Not alll of the movie takes place in the cigar store ... b ut a lot of it does, & perhaps like Hitchcock in REAR WINDOW or THE ROPE, the photography & direcrting make it work. But there are many other scenes on sites to provide both variety & action.
This film not only works it is a terrific journey that promises to take you through many ideas & situations that are familiar & some bizarre. But they are always interesting & enjoyable. That's what entertainment is about. It is a good idea to see this movie in a settled-in-for-the-night state. Full enjoyment in it requires attention that inevitably gives way to immersion.
I agree with those reviewers who wrote that at least Keitel & the screen adaptation of this film earned its 1995 Academy Award nominations. See for yourself.
