Smoke 1995
This film has an interesting story. In 1990, The New York Times asked writer Paul Auster to write a Christmas story. The resulting story, “Oggy Wren’s Christmas Story,” formed the basis of the screenplay for Smoke. In the film set in a tobacco shop in Brooklyn, Auster expanded the story by adding four new characters whose lives intersect with Auggie Wren. Harvey Keitel did a fantastic job as Auggie, the owner of a shop that is a meeting place for the neighborhood residents. The formation of the other characters; Paul (William Hurt), a disillusioned writer, his troubled boyfriend Rashid, his ex-girlfriend Ruby, and others form a network of friends over a few summer days. Auster, who previously adapted his novel The Music of Chance into a film with a harsh style, takes a more free and improvisational approach this time; giving his characters the opportunity to talk about their lives. The main Christmas story is played out in black and white at the end with the music of Tom Waits.
