Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, October 30, 2009 at 05:51PM
"Barking Water" is, by definition, a road movie. But this journey is far different from the genre's norm of encountering oddball characters and/or harrowing situations. Rather, "Barking Water" is the story of a journey home that, minutes into the movie, you realize is the final trip for Frankie (Richard Ray Whitman), a Native man who is first seen leaving a hospital, refusing to take the offered wheelchair, and speeding off in a battered station wagon. Picking him up and doing the driving for most of the trip is Irene (Casey Camp-Horinek), a woman who might be Frankie's wife. But as writer/director Sterlin Harjo spins out his touching tale, we learn that they're not married and have had a troubled but close relationship. Irene, however, is doing one last favor for the man who, in the end, left her too many times. The journey across Oklahoma is aimed at getting Frankie to the small town where his daughter and grandchild live. He wants to make amends with them before he dies. Along the way, Frankie and Irene meet up with friends, relatives and strangers, including a guy named Elvis who gives Frankie some pot to help with his nausea. We also see flashbacks to Frankie and Irene decades earlier, putting their lives and the journey, in context. That's about all that needs to be said about what happens in "Barking Water." The movie is really not so much about plot but the characters, their feelings and their attachment to their families and culture. Whitman, a veteran actor and acclaimed artist, and Camp-Horinek each give note-perfect performances and feel like an old couple who have been together (sort of) for decades, blending affection and tension in the most believable fashion. That acting carries the film and gives it great heart, allowing the little incidents that take place along the way to resonate with emotional power. In just his second film, Harjo shows the skill of a veteran, crafting an evocative story that fits with its setting. Glimpses of oil refineries, ramshackle houses and people playing board games tell much about the land and Native culture. "Barking Water" is a quiet little film, the kind of picture that gets overlooked in the hype-fueled, box-office-driven movie world. But it is more rewarding and far more real that anything you're likely to see in the multiplex this weekend.
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