How Canadian is this?

Many of the actors are from Canada, but I don't really know why else it would be in a Canadian section in a video store.

how ignorant is that, that this movie ended up in the Canadian section. it was an American movie, filmed in America. the reason most of the actors are Canadian is that many Native American actors are Canadian-- do we forget that settlers here either murdered tens of thousands of Native Americans or drove them out and up north?

i dunno about you guys, but i noticed in the film that the actors use canadian slang like "EH?" and "INNIT?". And thomas almost sounds like bruce mccullogh's(spelling?)little school boy character from kids in the hall, more canadian ties. :D

Hi,

I'm Native and live in Winnipeg and Smoke Signals is definitely NOT a Canadian movie, regardless if a few of the actors come from Canada originally. Are all Jim Carrey movies Canadian too then?

WOW..I am a Canadian First Nations woman,and honestly I am a little shocked at some of your responses on a whole towards Canada, and Candian Aboriginals.
I KNOW this film is not Canadian. I like to watch Aboriginal films, and we are all on Turtle Island together. I am proud of the Sherman Alexie's of this world,and the Chris Eyre's and all the actors, Canadian AND American.

Obviously this film was just put in the wrong section. So I am not sure where all the hostility towards Canada is coming from.

Most films to be honest, while they may portray Canadian Aboriginals...though I am not sure which ones some of you were talking about, have never been written, directed and produced by Aboriginals. Be proud that Smoke signals was, I am. Not because it is American or Canadian, but because it is a true representation of Aboriginality. I think the term pan-Aboriginal is offensive, and it has been created by non-Aboriginal voices. Not our voices.

Keep in mind who your brothers and sisters are, remember that the concept of dividing us is one that was imposed upon us. We did not create the border as someone else suggested. I have Blackfoot friends here in Alberta whose family lives in the states because of where the governments decided to draw the line. It sucks.

Some rez people say "innit" here, not all. I would have considered it a rez term, not a Canadian or American thing.

Think of who is defining what is Aboriginal and what is not in our society, they are the same people that would then divide us into our cultural groups, areas of the country, language groups, provinces, tribes, states and then nations...Be proud of who you are, where you come from, who your ancestors are, but remember where we all came from. From one Creator, and we are all connected to the bigger picture.

I hope I have not offended anyone, but I feel strongly that the longer we are all divided the longer it will take us to reach our final destination. One of peace, understanding, and unity. Because we battle everyday, and the more unified we are, the more we will accomplish.

All my Relations
Canada Eh?!

The Review of Smoke Signals:
I did not find the film (1) poignant in any way or (2) entertaining for entertainments sake. I found Smoke Signals to be rather uninspiring, there was a lot of hype, and not a lot of substance. The storyline is disjointed and the acting is well below average and unfortunately, the sad performances from the actors did nothing to propel the extremely weak plot. I found Sherman Alexie's story to be lackluster, trying to prove a point which is quite unclear. I wasn't sure if this was a comedy about two opposites thrown together (because there were very few humorous moments, this film certainly was not the sidesplitter that reviews boast it to be) or if it was a drama about a man discovering who his father really was. Too many themes are attempted to be covered, leaving the viewer confused and uninterested. Unfortunately, because of the poor script and unskilled actors, this film was not moving or compelling at all, no emotion was evoked, except disdain for everyone involved in the making of this film. Additionally, the Native American accents sound incredibly bizarre to me and resemble a strange mix of Irish, Indian (from India) and American English dialects. In addition to the film’s disjointed feel, many scenes felt rushed and contrived. The somewhat interesting dynamic and contrast between Victor and Thomas seemed to resolve itself just in time for the end of the film. Also, Thomas' fascination and appreciation for Victor's father, (as the father he never had) is hardly explored or discussed by either character. Conversely, the relationship between Suzy and Victor's father feels completely unbelievable and seems to work only as a means for Victor to better know his father, although I am never convinced that happens. Because of consistent plot holes, or rather underdevelopments, the audience must take great leaps of faith throughout the entire film, hardly any of which pay off.

Probably the fact that the two leads in this movie, Adam Beach and Evan Adams (Powell River represent!!), are Canadian qualifies it for "Canadian content".

Either that, or they just stuck it in the wrong section. No biggie. The staff in my local video store make dumb mistakes frequently.

There's an obvious Canadian feel to this movie, because of the actors and actresses. What stands out to me are the accents--Coeur d'Alenes don't sound like that, but the folks in the movie sound Chippewa-Cree.

"You eat guts."--Nick Devlin