KQED Life: Sun, Nov 18, 2012 -- 9:00 PM

Frankie is dying. Refusing to do so in an impersonal hospital, he convinces Irene, an old flame with lingering resentment, to spring him out and drive him across Oklahoma to see his daughter one last time. Their journey becomes about more than just going home as they meet strangers and old friends and confront their past. BARKING WATER examines the ties that bind people together. It's a tale of home . . . and what it takes to get there. A uniquely delicate and moving road movie, Barking Water uses the weathered and beautiful backdrop of rural Oklahoma to tell the story of Frankie (Richard Ray Whitman), a proud Native American attempting to reconnect with his estranged family. Released from the hospital, but still very ill, he hits the road with his ex-lover Irene (Casey Camp-Horinek), who acts as Frankie's nurse but refuses to allow forgiveness for his past indiscretions. But the journey really begins as they travel through the sun-dappled Oklahoman country to reunite with Frankie's daughter and grandchild, encountering various eccentric personalities from motor-mouthed nephews to a philosophical pot-smoking loner, along the way. With its nuanced vision of Native American life, its rich pastoral cinematography, and the deeply felt performances of Whitman and Camp-Horinek, director Sterlin Harjo has created a film that cements his place as one of the vital voices in American Independent cinema today.