Rain

Rain was an enjoyable first feature by Bahamian director Maria Govan, thought I suspect my upbeat feeling about the movie was influenced by the infectious energy at the screening from the large Bahamian entourage, and the triumphant "I can't believe we're here" attitude of the cast and creative team at the Q&A.

The story is one we've heard before, but told in a uniquely Bahamian context it felt fresh and real.  Rain is the name of a teenage girl living on a smaller island, who has to find her mother when her guardian/grandmother passes away quietly in the first few minutes of the film.  Mom, as as has been foreshadowed, is a base head living in a squalid area outside the city of Nassau known as "the graveyard".    Mom very reluctantly takes Rain in, and manages to get her enrolled in school.   Then gets right back at it with her depraved life....though, ever so slowly, through Rain's positive influence, she begins to question herself.  Rain struggles to fit in with her mom and new school but meets a fantastic role model in the school track coach.    What ensues is the standard Hollywood script of the redemptive value of sports and overcoming your upbringing/social standing/prejudice through perseverance.   Anyway, to cut to the chase, Rain makes it (you heard it here first).

What I liked about the film was the fact that all of the characters were women - men were minor, useless characters, which felt right and real, and echoes my experience in Southern Africa many years ago.  And the portrayal of The Bahamas, so commonly thought of as a quiet paradise, as a complex, troubled country, was pretty revelatory.     Finally, the performances were very good, despite the at times cliche-ridden script and very obviously low budget shooting/sets.

Curious to see if this one makes a buzz at People's Choice time.  It's the sort of feel good story (within and without the movie) that just might.