Hurricane on the Bayou

I just came from the Entergy IMAX Theatre in New Orleans and watched this documentary directed by Greg MacGillivray. While it does indeed depict Hurricane Katrina in both actual footage and some recreations, the crux of the film deals with the wetlands and how some man-made renovations may have contributed to some of their erosion over the years. MacGillivray provides some beautiful footage of many of these wetlands as we get a literally moving point-of-view shot through the various trees. Glen Pitre, the Louisiana filmmaker responsible for Belizaire the Cajun and The Scoundrel's Wife (a.k.a. The Home Front), wrote the narration spoken by Meryl Streep. There are also comments spread throughout by musicians Tab Benoit and fiddle prodigy Amanda Shaw about their experiences before and after the fateful hurricane. They also provided a wonderful singing duet about an alligator and its offspring as footage of those animals were showing. We also see Ms. Shaw accompany legendary producer and pianist Allen Toussaint and singer Marva Wright for a spirited song at the end. At 45 minutes, Hurricane on the Bayou shows how New Orleans, despite its disastrous setback 3 years ago, keeps trying to lift its spirits up with great music and a good party atmosphere for all. So on that note, I say Let the Good Times Roll! P.S. I recognized one of the background songs as Dr. John's "Such a Night".

This was an interesting IMAX movie that showed the effects of channelization and erosion on the Mississippi River Delta in Louisiana. It also describes the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the ecosystem and the people of Louisiana. I don't think the film made the best use of the IMAX format, as in previous films. But, it was interesting to see Louisiana, its flora, fauna, Cajuns, and other residents of the country, as they try to survive a hurricane, despite the loss of much of the wetlands that softened previous hurricanes and storm surges associated with the massive amounts of wind and rain accompanying such storms.

The damage done to some of the infrastructure of Louisiana has to be seen to be believed, and this film does good service of showing houses crumbling under fallen trees, utility poles pushed to the ground, a vehicle crushed by a house lifted and moved on top of the vehicle, and fishing boats pushed on top of a major highway. The city of New Orleans is shown with water covering most of their streets and the bottom floors of houses, with the only escape route for many residents being by boat.

But, New Orleans is shown to be very resilient and determined to build itself back even better than before. And, the actors and actresses in this film are all very talented musicians, for the most part. So, the film is full of music, including zydeco, blues, and other local songs. All in all, this proves to be a pleasant way to spend an hour or two, despite the unpleasant damage done by the storm.

I was under the impression this would be more about Hurricane Katrina and the after effects of it but it's mainly about a prodigal flutist and her reactions to the wetlands before and after. Her friend who lives in the wetlands gives an idea of how the bayou has been in recession but he sounds a lot like the rooster from Disney's "Robin Hood" so it's hard to not focus on that similarity.

If the documentary had decided to focus more on the wetlands, that would have been fine. However, it starts to dramatize Hurricane Katrina and uses computer animation at some points to show havoc being wreaked. There are also a series of picture frames that show action happening in each of them. Usually, it's two off to the side with the same action and something else in the middle. It was not necessary.

The IMAX camera is best used here when it's showing sweeping overhead shots but unfortunately the movie needs more than just the shots and an attempt at one person's story and it doesn't deliver anything else.

Hurricane on the Bayou (2006)

*** (out of 4)

This IMAX documentary started out to cover the Louisiana swamps and why the wetland was pretty much disappearing but during production Hurricane Katrina hit so this adds more to the story. Meryl Streep narrates the story as we're introduced to a few people who live in the swamps and how they've been saying for years that the swamplands needed more attention. When Katrina struck they felt that had there been more wetlands then the hurricane might have died down a bit more and the massive destruction wouldn't have happened. It should be noted that I viewed this movie at home so the review should be read with that in mind since of course your home television, no matter how great, isn't going to be the same thing as the IMAX. For the most part I enjoyed this 44-minute film but at the same time I can't help but think it should have been much better. I think the problem is that the producers were limited on the running time so the movie feels incredibly uneven in regards to what story it wants to tell. It starts off about the Mississippi Delta but then switches focus to the destruction of Katrina. The film jumps back and forth and I can't help but think the two stories should have been made into their own movie. We're introduced to a young musician and we see her life briefly before and after Katrina but in the end it just doesn't hit home as it should. In regards to the images they're certainly what makes this film worth viewing. The stuff early on gives us a terrific look at the swamps and brings us extremely close to some alligators in the water. The second portion of the film gives us a rather incredible look at the destruction and the first images we see is a highway with not cars on it but instead boats that the storm left there.