Pray for Rain (2017)

A journalist returns to the California farming community where she was raised only to find it has been ravaged by drought and has become a place ruled by gangs.

Director:

Alex Ranarivelo

Writers:

Christina Moore, Gloria Musca

Stars:

Jane Seymour, Annabelle Stephenson, Nicholas Gonzalez

Cast

Credited cast:
Jane Seymour	...	Olivia Gardner
Annabelle Stephenson	...	Emma Gardner
Nicholas Gonzalez	...	Nico Reynoso
James Morrison	...	Patrick Waring
Paul Rodriguez	...	Francisco Reynoso
Ali Afshar	...	Scorpion
John Ducey	...	Adam Campbell
Tyler Jacob Moore	...	Crash Murphy
John Heard	...	Markus Gardner
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nicole Badaan	...	Nicole
Liam Xavier Breen	...	Tomasito
Velina Brown	...	Lead FBI Agent
Esperanza Catubig	...	Doctor
Liz Godwin	...	Liz
John Ierardi	...	River Rain

Storyline

When Emma Gardner, a whip smart NYC reporter learns of her father's untimely death, she returns to her home town to find that the idyllic farming community of her childhood has been ravaged by drought and has become a place tormented by gangs and the ill effects of extreme poverty. She quickly figures out that her dad's accidental death was not accidental at all. The lists of possible suspects include overly zealous environmentalists, a local war lord and other farmers jealous of her father's outstanding reputation.

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Plot Keywords:

gang | drought | environmentalist | farmer | reporter | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and some violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 June 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Módl się o deszcz

Filming Locations:

Coalinga, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

ESX Entertainment, ESX Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Bella Conejo" does not sound right in Spanish. "Conejo" means rabbit and is a masculine noun. "Bella" means beautiful but is a feminine adjective. The right way would have been, for example, "Conejo Bonito" or "Coneja Bonita".

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Soundtracks

Lit
Performed by Lexy Panterra
Written by Lexy Panterra and Elliot Webber
Produced by Aaron Ayala and Jordan Stilwell

User Reviews

Often Spins Into Ridiculous Plot Elements

Set in Central Valley, California, this film often plays like a Made- for-TV or B-movie. Annabelle Stephenson stars here, as Emma, a NYC writer for a fashion magazine, who is returning to her hometown of Bella Canejo, Ca., for her father's funeral.

Soon however, she'll be switching hats from fashion reporter to investigative sleuth, as she tries to get to the bottom of a large conspiracy involving the cutting off of desperately needed water to the local farmers by those who want to force them out and buy their land for pennies on the dollar.

Some of the decisions by the intrepid Emma had me shaking my head in disbelief as they became more and more ridiculous as the movie progressed. There was enough here though to keep me interested and want to know how it would all turn out, and it does have some twists near the end and a poignant finale.

Reading the review of critic Roger Moore, on Rotten Tomatoes outlining where the production of this film was coming from raised a lot of red flags for me, so buyer beware.