Film Analysis Of The Film 'Smoke Signals'

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The film “Smoke Signals” tells the tale of how two boys travels to Arizona in order to retrieve one of their father’s ashes. During this journey there are several flashbacks to the boy’s, and father’s, lives. During one of the father’s, Arnold, flashbacks he asks his neighbor what was the worst thing that they had ever done, after their reply he vaguely states that he “broke three hearts, too” (Eyre 1998). At first I saw this to be a plain and simple explanation, breaking somebody’s heart is an awful thing to do to a person. As I looked into who’s hearts he broke, I noticed that Arnold broke four hearts not three. The first three people that I instantly thought of when Arnold stated this quote was: Thomas, Victor, and Arnold’s wife. But, I also think that Arnold broke his own heart along with the other three. Overall, I believe that Arnold acknowledged that he broke Thomas, Victor, and his wife’s heart, but he didn’t realize that in the process he also broke his own heart. I think that Arnold believes that he broke Thomas’s heart during that fateful night when Arnold accidently killed Thomas’s parents. I personally don’t believe that Thomas sees himself as being “broken,” but in the eyes of Arnold he …show more content…

At the end of the film when Victor and Thomas returned back to their reservation Thomas asked Victor if he knew why his father left, his answer was he didn’t mean to. I don’t believe Arnold ever intended to leave even though he talked about disappearing excessively, he loved everyone too much. When Arnold left, I believe the regret of leaving ate him alive which is why I consider him to be the fourth heart break. The regret and always wondering what life would have been life if he hadn’t of left tormented his heart and mind every day that he was away. I believe that Arnold living with this regret caused him to break his own

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