Meanwhile, tragically widowed writer William Hurt is lured by fate into the life of a young teenage runaway (Harold Perrineau Jr.), a fast-talking youngster who is in trouble with hoods from his hood, and who comes up with a clever way to worm his way into the life of the estranged father (Forest Whitaker) he has never known.

These tales, and others, are not wrapped up neatly at the end and there are unanswered questions to each and every one. But that's part of the charm. If you leave the theater wondering about these people and discussing some of the dangling plotlines, all the better.

All of the performances here are terrific, with Keitel leading the pack at his most relaxed and easy-to-like. And director Wang once again proves himself quite adept at making a film's simplest conversation seem wonderfully intriguing.

And under the closing credits is a bonus, a touching black-and-white silent movie that illustrates a Christmas story Keitel has just related to Hurt for the fadeout.

"Smoke" is a gem.

It's rated R for profanity and vulgar language, along with some violence.