Smoke 1995

A screenshot of the scene described below.

I watched the 1995 film, Smoke (directed by Wayne Wang.) Initially I was put off by the “American-ness” of it, and thought I would not connect with the characters or storyline, but it did develop into a well-written film that included thought provoking scenes, and some humour thrown in for good measure. It follows the story of 4 key characters, all of which become a part of each other’s story as the film unwinds. Small things that each character does affects the other characters, and for this reason it reminded me of the 2004 film The Butterfly Effect.

One of the main characters (Auggie) takes a photo outside of his tobacco store every day at 8am, and early in the film he shows these images to another character (Paul), noting that they are “a record of my little spot.” All the images are from the same angle, but they are all vastly different due to the events of the day, the time of year, and the weather. Paul tries to flick through the image quickly but Auggie scolds him, telling him that “You’ll never get it if you don’t slow down.” He notes that “[the images] are all the same, but each one is different from any other.”

I thought this scene related to my work because I am also using photography to depict the passing of time. (For example, with my coffee cup images, and the street shots taken by Shinya.) What is interesting about the repetition of a seemingly mundane scene (or object) is that viewing it invites (or forces) us to draw out similarities, hunt for differences, and create patterns.

Smoke 1995, DVD, Miramax, USA.