Overview
A journey through the mundane reveals the extraordinary in everyday life.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- wistful
- intimate
- quiet evening
- rainy day
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's stellar ensemble, connected stories, sustained attention, and pleasurable humanistic atmosphere.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Auggie's smoke shop anchors connected episodes involving Paul, Rashid, Ruby, and Cyrus, with the larger pattern emerging incrementally.
Auggie's daily photographs of the smoke shop create a patient observational motif focused on small details of neighborhood life.
Auggie's final tale and the film's emphasis on aesthetic satisfaction foreground storytelling as a way to reshape lived experience.
The Brooklyn smoke shop serves as the recurring meeting place for the film's intersecting personal narratives.
Films like Smoke, and why
Short Cuts
interconnected urban stories, literary humanism, and gentle melancholic wit
Paris, je t'aime
small-scale ensemble drama using everyday encounters to reveal hidden emotional lives
The Station Agent
reflective New York character drama centered on chance connections and storytelling
Clerks
wry, intimate urban storytelling with philosophical conversations and damaged protagonists
Movie Details
- Director
- Wayne Wang
- Release Date
- 1995-06-09
- Runtime
- 112 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (551)
Cast
- Harvey Keitel
- William Hurt
- Stockard Channing
- Harold Perrineau
- Forest Whitaker
- Giancarlo Esposito
- José Zúñiga
- Stephen Gevedon
- Jared Harris
- Ashley Judd
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Smoke about?
- A Brooklyn smoke-shop proprietor and a grieving writer discover that attentive observation and improvised stories can restore meaning to ordinary lives.
- What is Smoke like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Smoke as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Smoke violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Smoke as mild.
- What did critics think of Smoke?
- Critics broadly praised the film's stellar ensemble, connected stories, sustained attention, and pleasurable humanistic atmosphere.
- Which films are like Smoke?
- Films with a similar feel include Short Cuts, Paris, je t'aime, The Station Agent, and Clerks.
- How long is Smoke?
- Smoke runs 112 minutes.
- Where can I watch Smoke?
- In United States, Smoke is available to rent or buy from JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
