Smoke (1995)

**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.