The Rain Makers (2005)

In the tradition of such films as "Billy Jack", "The Seven Samurai", and "Electra Glide in Blue", "The Rain Makers" is the story about a rag tag group of unique individuals who reluctantly come together to protect the weak from the unscrupulous criminals trying to oppress them. Set in and around a small Arizona town in the year 1973, this tale revolves around a commune called the Freedom Preserve. It's occupants, mostly hippies, peaceniks, and artists, have all turned their back on a society and government in turmoil over the war in Vietnam. They have created their own Utopia and try to maintain a peaceful existence with the local residents. Their efforts, however, are unsuccessful. The townspeople despise them and the local law harasses them every chance they get. When a real estate developer attempts to steal their land from them, they find themselves without allies. The members of the Freedom Preserve refuse to give up their commune and property, and suddenly find themselves being attacked and terrorized by a vicious biker gang. The sheriffs won't help and we discover that the department's lead deputy is in on it. Billy, a local Native American, and ex- Special Forces soldier, watches this injustice from afar, never interfering in anyone's affairs. Karen, the local veterinarian, sympathizes with the people from the Freedom Preserve but is obsessed with her own hidden agenda. Cole, also an ex- Green Beret who served with Billy, has just returned from Vietnam. Cole takes a job as a Sheriff's deputy and finds himself caught in the middle. Art is a local store owner who helps the Freedom Preserve get their crafts to the marketplace. He is one of the only local townspeople who openly supports the commune. Jerry, a long haul trucker, is Art's best friend. He stays with the Freedom Preserve community in between hauls and gets along with the local law about as well as the hippies do. Paulo is a member of the Freedom Preserve who is unable to turn the other cheek like his fellow comrades. Ben is an attorney. Being black, he has had first hand experience with prejudice. He offers his services to the Freedom Preserve in hopes of finding some peaceful resolution. It is Ben's investigations that eventually uncover the plot to destroy the Freedom Preserve so that the corrupt Sheriff's deputy and his cohorts can build an airstrip to fly in drugs from Mexico. He also discovers that the bikers are being used to distribute the drugs across the state. The Seven all find themselves drawn into the growing conflict between the Freedom Preserve and the bikers and local Sheriffs. They reluctantly decide to stand together to protect the commune members. While the Freedom Preserve community is grateful for their saviors, they are also reluctant to condone the Seven's violent actions against the bikers. They force the Seven to promise that they will not kill anyone in the process. In the incredibly violent war that follows, the Seven must defend themselves and the Freedom Preserve against both the bikers and the Sheriffs, without resorting to the same lethal tactics that are being used on them. It is a war that only one side will survive.