Rain Is Falling

"sop·o·rif·ic"--an adjective indicating something that causes sleep. This seldom used English word was the first one that came to mind after I finished watching THE RAIN IS FALLING. It's funny, but some love the film as there are some amazingly positive reviews and it has won awards, but to me this short only induced a strong need to sleep with it's incredibly slow narrative and ultra-simple story.

A small girl is carrying water from the mountains to her home which appears to be miles away. Because of how she looks and the countryside, I'd assume this was filmed in Turkey or Iran by this German film crew. Once she arrives home, a doctor is in with her sick mother and there is no dialog to indicate what is happening, though it appears the lady is extremely ill. Then, when it begins raining, the rustic roof begins to leak profusely. The girl puts cups, buckets, and all sorts of containers about the house to catch the rain. When this also begins in the mother's room, she dutifully sits next to her sleeping mother--catching the falling rain.

While the cinematography is nice, the film lasts too long and left me feeling very cold and indifferent. Perhaps you, too, will love this film but I really suspect that the average viewer will be left cold by this flick.

This is an inspiring vision of a little girl's struggle in a difficult situation. A girl is worried for her sick mother and must help her in some way. Filmed on location in Morocco, it is chock-full of beautiful camera-work and contains an almost mystic message, which comes across perfectly, precisely and to the point, without words. The girl is sweet and beautiful and pulls off her roll convincingly, with a serenity that is almost eerie. I recommend this to anyone near a film festival... as it seems to be popping up all over Europe and in certain parts of the States, too. Go see it and you will want more from this award-winning director. Rock on Holger Ernst.