Smoke

Auggie Wren begins the film by photographing the storefront across the street every morning at 8:00. He compiles his images into albums that map moments in time rather than just appearances. These photos anchor the film's idea that every moment is unique even if the surface looks the same.

Paul Benjamin, a recently widowed writer, spends an evening with Auggie and is initially dismissive of the photographs as all the same. Auggie counters that each image captures a distinct moment in time, and he asks Paul to slow down and look closer. The interaction plants the seed for Paul to reevaluate his approach to life and storytelling.

During their conversation, Paul glimpses his late wife in one of Auggie's album images and is overwhelmed, breaking down with emotion. The moment deepens Paul's sense of memory and loss, and it marks a turning point in his attitude toward Auggie's project. This revelation underscores the idea that photographs carry personal and emotional histories.

The next day, Paul is lost in thought on the street when Rashid unexpectedly saves him from a truck. Grateful, Paul invites Rashid to stay at his apartment, hoping to help him, but Rashid's presence quickly irritates Paul with noise and improvised living. Paul asks him to leave, initiating a fragile, complicated stay that unsettles both men.

Rashid's aunt visits Paul and explains Rashid's true identity as Thomas, and his difficult background. She reveals Rashid was estranged from his father, who has recently been seen at a gas station outside the city. The visit reframes Paul's view of Rashid and foreshadows the broader theme of paternal recognition.

Rashid tracks down his father, Cyrus Cole, at a gas station and sketches him; Cyrus does not recognize him at first and befriends him, hiring him to do renovation work. Rashid hides his identity and tells Cyrus that his name is Paul Benjamin. Cyrus explains his artificial arm and the car crash that supposedly caused it, hinting at guilt but offering no immediate reconciliation.

Rashid returns to Paul’s apartment to give him a secondhand TV and, in the process, raises Paul's suspicions about the mysterious 6,000 dollars he has stashed there. When Paul confronts him, Rashid admits the money came from robbers and says he is in hiding. Rashid then disappears, leaving Paul and Auggie to piece together his whereabouts.

Paul and Auggie track Rashid back to Cyrus's gas station, where Rashid finally reveals his true identity as Cyrus's son. Cyrus initially rejects him but has an emotional breakdown and eventually reconciles with his son. The moment reshapes the family's future and Rashid's place in the circle of patrons.

After the reconciliation, Rashid is hired to work at Auggie's tobacconist shop, integrating into the small community of patrons that sustains Auggie's business. He begins to contribute, showing a steadier presence than before, and gradually earns trust.

Auggie imports $5,000 worth of Cuban cigars for officials, but Rashid ruins the shipment by leaving a sink overflow unattended. He returns the money, giving Auggie the 5,000 to keep his job, and Auggie reluctantly accepts to preserve the working relationship. The incident tests their fragile trust and the meaning of repayment.

Ruby McNutt, Auggie's ex-girlfriend, visits the shop and asks for money to cover rehab costs for Felicity, who is said to be Auggie's daughter and who is pregnant and using drugs. Auggie later gives her the same 5,000 that Rashid provided, blurring lines between loyalty and guilt. The exchange leaves him uncertain about Felicity's paternity and adds ambiguity to his finances.

Paul tells Auggie that The New York Times wants a Christmas Day story, and Auggie offers to share his best Christmas story in exchange for lunch. He recounts a tale of spending Christmas with a blind grandmother, who at first mistakes him for her grandson; after she falls asleep, he discovers stacks of stolen cameras and decides to take one, only to regret it when the grandmother dies. Paul is impressed by the story but privately suspects that Auggie may have invented it.

During and after the closing credits, Auggie's story is enacted in a poignant black-and-white sequence set to Tom Waits's Innocent When You Dream. The self-contained vignette mirrors the film's themes of memory, guilt, and the complexity of truth. The sequence leaves the audience with a quiet, haunting resonance.