Check this out! Brief review of the film “Barking Water,” 2009, Starring Richard Ray Whitman and Casey Camp-Horinek, Lorber Films. In English and Myskoke (with English subtitles). Not Rated.

Fiction which is a good summary of some of the main issues facing Native Americans

This movie brings out so many important themes and problems in the Native communities and puts them into a story of a man and a woman navigating their past memories and dealing with a harsh future. The main character, Irene (Camp-Horinek), is figuring out how to deal with both the past loss of her relationship with her man Frankie (Whitman) who left her and her future loss of that relationship coming when he dies of cancer.

This is a crippling and fatiguing movie in many ways. But it is good to watch to see how things can go astray…

Irene and Frankie take a road trip to visit places and family throughout their past and try to drag everyone—most not interested—into not only the present but the impending future. That future includes the death of Frankie.

In her old stick-shift Volvo station wagon, Irene delivers her man around to visit a variety of places and persons… it is a great reminder of the kinds of things many of us go through… relationships that end… friendships that endure… loves that keep going… liaisons that get cancelled.

As we get older, we often deal with connections that are more and more complicated… Native Americans have their additional issues of being thrown away by the system, thrown away by the White man, and thrown away by each other.

Their treatment of each other has been a kick in the face. It is brutal and startling and exhausting. “Barking Water” is a terribly sad but honest journey taken on by Irene for the sake of Frankie.

It is also maybe for the sake of Irene.

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For more info, see:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1201135/?ls

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Wikipedia entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barking_Water

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The trailer:.

https://www.imdb.com/video/vi101386009/?ref_=tt_vids_vi_1

Website:

https://web.archive.org/web/20090122031359/http://barkingwaterfilm.com/