“When the Levees Broke”
On the first anniversary of devastating Hurricane Katrina come remembrance and a disturbing truth. In the HBO documentary, “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts” directed by the genius Spike Lee, New Orleans and its people plea for help and honesty. Lee presents another truthful film, delivering a strong message, one that many people may not want to comprehend.
One year ago America watched as Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans and its surrounding areas. People watched as the media covered the tragedy, looking for progress. As time continued to pass people started to forget about the devastation that still remained down in the bayou. Now the year has passed and too many people are still waiting for assistance. Lee brings much needed attention to this situation with his compelling documentary.
So many of the images that are shown in the documentary are memorable. Cars sticking out of roofs on houses, houses painted with “Save us please” messages and dead people drifting upside down in water. At moments the footage is too hard to look at. In other moments you are laughing with the stories of people who Lee has chosen to talk about the experience.
Lee includes the voices of Governor Kathleen Blanco; Mayor Ray Nagin; Actor Sean Penn; Activists Al Sharpton and Harry Belafonte; CNN’s Soledad O’Brien; and the people of New Orleans, the survivors. All the voices illustrate a consistent message of frustration. Every person speaks passionately about the catastrophe. Some yell with anger, some break into tears, some recite poems, some tell jokes, all of them trying to make sense of what has happened.
The film ends with a traditional Jazz Funeral, a historical event for New Orleans. These funerals mourn death and then celebrate life with Jazz and Blues. Music is a constant theme in New Orleans for good times and bad. Ending the documentary with this vision leaves the viewer with a sense of hope and optimism. Sadly it will take time, but Lee’s vision does a great job of motivating people to help in any way possible.
“When the Levees Broke” is a great film, not only for its content, but for it’s visual aestheticism and its overall message. The cinematography and the editing of the film were seamless and beautifully honest. Because of the subject matter, the film is very long and hard to watch all at once, but if it is broken up it is easier to comprehend. Lee took on a major event with a great amount of information and emotions, and his execution proves to be an outstanding job.
Story- A
Acting- N/A
Visuals- A
Originality/ Innovation- A
Enjoyability- N/A (Too sensitive to call enjoyable)
Overall- A
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