Smoke

"The most precious things are lighter than air."

1995 1h 52m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 553

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“The most precious things are lighter than air.”

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Cast

Harvey Keitel
Augustus 'Auggie' Wren
William Hurt
Paul Benjamin
Stockard Channing
Ruby McNutt
Harold Perrineau
Thomas 'Rashid' Cole
Forest Whitaker
Cyrus Cole
Giancarlo Esposito
1st OTB Man / Tommy
José Zúñiga
2nd OTB Man / Jerry
Stephen Gevedon
OTB Man #3 / Dennis

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Wayne Wang
Writers: Paul Auster
Languages: English
Countries: Germany, Japan, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Germany, Japan, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Brooklyn Cigar Store Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Wayne Wang, shot by Adam Holender. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Rachel Portman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Christopher Tellefsen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Harvey Keitel and William Hurt and Stockard Channing carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The most precious things are lighter than air.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Wayne Wang directs. Adam Holender behind the camera. Rachel Portman scores. Christopher Tellefsen cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Germany, Japan, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

131 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 3 countries: Germany, Japan, United States of America.
3Part of the "Brooklyn Cigar Store Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Wayne Wang, shot by Adam Holender. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Rachel Portman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Christopher Tellefsen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Harvey Keitel and William Hurt and Stockard Channing carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The most precious things are lighter than air.".
9IMDB entry: tt0114478 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Adam Holender
Original score: Rachel Portman
Editing: Christopher Tellefsen
Production design: Kalina Ivanov
Costume design: Claudia Brown
Makeup / hair: Wayne Herndon
Sound: Michael Barry
Stunt coordinator: Blaise Corrigan
Runtime: 112 min · 1h 52m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $7,000,000
Box office: $8,349,430
Return: 119% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Smoke (1995)

Awards

Silver nugget for the best foreign film
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Brooklyn Cigar Store Collection

Also by

Wayne Wang

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Filipe Manuel Neto2023-06-18
★ 5/10
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.

Production companies