I've never smoked, and I never will, but "Smoke" has been one of my favourite movies, and always will be. The plot of this movie, if there is a plot, drifts and swirls like smoke all around you. Characters and subplots are deftly woven into a tapestry of stories and pictures which only slowly emerges to our view.
This movie tries to convince us that reality doesn't matter so much as aesthetic satisfaction. In Auggie Wren's New York City smoke shop, day by day passes, seemingly unchanging until he teaches us to notice the little details of life. Paul Benjamin, a disheartened and broken writer, has a brush with death that is pivotal and sets up an unlikely series of events that afford him a novel glimpse into the life on the street which he saw, but did not truly perceive, every day.
Finally, it's Auggie's turn to spin a tale, and the film ends with a 'Christmas story' which conveys more of the religious-and humanist-meaning of that holiday than a thousand scmaltzy television specials.
Take a break from your hectic life and let the "Smoke" waft over you!
P.S. Read about the making of the film here.
