My fourth overlooked movie is a warm and wise parable about life, Barry Berman’s Waterproof (1999).  Soulful and sweet, this independent film beautifully captures the laidback pace of life in rural Louisiana, nicely contrasting it against the hustle and bustle of Washington, D.C.  The movie also takes a strong stance on the value of religious belief, which makes it unique in this day and age of largely secular entertainment.

Burt Reynolds portrays an aging Jewish grocer in Washington who becomes the target of a hold-up by three black youths as a gang initiation.  The initiate (Cordereau Dye) shoots the grocer, wounding him.  The boy’s mother (April Grace) is a taxi driver; she shepherds her son and the bleeding grocer to the only place of safety that she knows — the small Louisiana town of Waterproof that she left some fifteen years previously.

The grocer is attended to by the taxi driver’s relatives, who unexpectedly welcome him into their home.  The grandfather (Whitman Mayo), who admits to being 102, doctors the injured man while the taxi driver confronts the events of the past which forced her to leave town when she was just 16, and which involved her brothers (Orlando Jones and Anthony Lee).

Movies like this which deal with secrets of the past must be carefully written and executed, taking the time to establish the situation and characters and then slowly revealing the terrible events of the past.  Waterproof does this very well, only hinting at the deeper problems troubling the single mother-taxi driver central character until well into the story.  Her choices are not easy ones, but she gradually does the best that she can.

Writer-director Barry Berman skillfully weaves humor and warmth into his tapestry, as the white-haired and bearded Jewish grocer (who is referred to as “Colonel Sanders” early in the film) discovers that he actually likes and appreciates the sedate, Southern-style of life.  Instead of making fun of the Southerners (as in Sweet Home Alabama), this movie embraces their uniqueness.

This is perhaps best revealed in the uplifting religious subtext of the film.  Most modern movies want nothing to do with religion, or treat it with disdain. Waterproof quietly yet effectively emphasizes the importance of faith to the Louisiana family, particularly to the matriarch (Ja’net DuBois) who goads everyone to accompany her to church.  Strong religious belief is viewed as a simple fact of life for her, and for many of her neighbors.  Gradually, the possibilities of such belief persuade her daughter — the taxi driver — to provide a new beginning for herself and her son.

Although I am not a religious person, I was quite moved by the spirituality present in this story.  As an audience member, it doesn’t matter whether I believe or not — religious belief becomes important to the main character, and her actions attest to the power of newly-found faith.  Some people find this type of subject inappropriate or heavy-handed (I suspected that I would), but the film’s heartfelt script prevents the religious elements from becoming sanctimonious or overwhelming.

Waterproof is available on DVD and VHS, and may be a direct-to-video release.  If so, then theatrical audiences missed a real treat.  My rating:  ✰ ✰ ✰.  (4:3).