Here is a movie which is realistic in its starkness and bleak surroundings. A young girl is raised by her dying father (leukemia) in horrible conditions in the bayou country. They deal with floods, hunger and poverty, not to mention agents coming to the island in helicopters to tell them they must evacuate. The Cajun culture is strong in the story and the people sail in a bath tub and floating shacks following an all-night downpour in which a girl’s father puts floating devices on her hands so she won’t drown. The father is hard on his daughter and we see that it is to toughen her up for when he is gone, but it is abusive toughness at times as he slaps her and yells at her. Yet her love for him is not questioned and they share some tender moments in the film. The young girl’s mother died years before.
Although the backbone of these characters is to be admired, the content of the film is not. It has strong language and some violent moments. It is definitely not a film which raises the spirits. Due to the strong language we are unable to award our Dove “Family-Approved” Seal to the movie.