
I feel this is a shame. Tons of people doing something they feel is important and a vast, vast majority of it is ignored.
Smoke is a reason I'm doing this project.
In 1995, I was 15 years old. Living at home. A sophomore in high school. I went to countless films. Sometimes two visits to the theater every weekend. I had a gross and shallow knowledge of filmdom. I was dumb, into bands and guitars and stuff. I really didn't have any time or patience for girls.
Smoke was released in 1995. Although it was released by Miramax and starred Harvey Keitel and William Hurt, two guys I had no idea about then. It also made just $8 million in the box office, which tells me it was probably not given a full release (it was indeed an independent film).
Still, it took place. It was done, released and put out on video without me ever knowing about it. I watch it 16 years after the fact and I love it.
Rich storytelling is lost in films anymore. We rely too much on actors, CGI and boredom to keep us interested in films. Instead, why not have a really good story with good actors portraying people we care about? That's what Smoke is. Keitel is a tobacco store owner in Brooklyn. William Hurt's a heartbroken novelist, who likes baseball.
Mixed with some peripheral characters that invade their comfortable existence and shake things up for the uncomfortable for the better. It's a good film. And it only took me 16 years to find it.
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