Here're some of the dialogue that made me love Sherman Alexie's beautiful film, "Smoke Signals":Victor: First of all, quit grinning like an idiot. Indians ain't supposed to smile like that. Get stoic. You got to look mean or people won't respect you. White people will run all over you if you don't look mean. You got to look like a warrior. You got to look like you just got back from killing a buffalo.
Thomas: But our tribe never hunted buffalo. We were fishermen
Victor: What? You want to look like you just came back from catching a fish? It ain't Dances With Salmon, you know? Man, you think a fisherman is tough? Thomas, you got to look like a warrior.
Two Coeur D'Alene Indian men travel together to recover the possessions of Victor's father, who died of alcoholism. Open skies and long winding roads only serve to highlight the secrets that we try so desperate to hid. This movie made me want to go to Phoenix, Arizona, and see what it's like to dance with real wolves. And as luck would have it, I did get to see Phoenix Arizona the following year. I didn't get to see any wolves though.
Phoenix, Arizona is one of the most beautiful places on earth. There's this gorgeous hotel The Buttes (Wyndham) with the open air hot tub (great memories there), and only couple of hours away is the Grand Canyon. We drove eight hours to the canyon, with two friends in the back seat. Because of the friends, we couldn't hold hands the entire drive there, and could only brush "accidentally" against one another's palm on the gear shaft.
First lesson learned, never take friends to journeys which are meant to be only for you and your loved ones.
Second, quit grinning like an idiot when you do finally get to hold hands. Bangladeshis ain't supposed to smile like that.
Get stoic.
