Quand les digues se sont brisées: un requiem en quatre actes

Spike Lee's film When the Levees Broke: A Requim in Four acts is a haunting look at New Orleans during and after the devastation of Katrina. But this documentary is quick to point out that the disaster was not really from nature at all, it came directly from our own government, from the army core of engineers' poor construction of the Levees to the complete breakdown of the federal government and FEMA's lack buster response. This is not easy to watch as you see just how people's lives were devastated. It is angering, saddening, and also hopeful that New Orleans will be rebuilt and that there is progress made. I liked how it does not point blame in one direction. Everyone is at fault here though some more than others. Seeing the picture of Dick Chenney fly fishing days after the disaster and Condaliza Rice buying shoes in NYC were certainly angering but also watching the governor of Lousiana refuse help from our president are standouts. However the real star of this documentary are the people of New Orleans. They talk freely and angrily about the pain that they have gone through and show that the storm didn't end last August, its still going on there to this day. It is unbelievable to watch as these people wait 4 months and longer for FEMA trailers, and when they get them to find that there is no electricity. When asked what she could do to get electricity one woman suggests a blow-job. It just shows the complete lack of support our government gave to this state and to this city. This film will move you to tears many times and is hard to take but it is necessary to watch . It features a superb score by Terrance Blanchard whose own family was devastated by Katrina as shown on film. An excellent documentary.

Let me explain this in terms everyone can understand. This is not an issue about Republican or Democrat, Left or Right. This is about justice. When a Government that is responsible for it's people turns it back on an entire State for immoral reasons someone needs to be accountable. This documentary explains in detail what happens when a government any government is not held accountable. There are no glass houses. Heed it's warning. One day it could be you floating down main street. Or burning up from global warming gone mad. This film is terrifying in the sense that it wasn't filmed in a Hollywood studio with some lame like Bruce Willis saving the day and all is well. This is real. And if you can stomach it, watch it. Invite a friend to watch it. And demand accountability from the people that are supposed to work for all of us. What does it say, when the richest country in the world lets it's most weak, sickest, poorest, young and old rot in a major city for over 7days? Watch this documentary and you answer that question yourself.

Spike Lee has made his most powerful work yet with "When The Levees Broke". It has only been one night and two hours, but this documentary has moved me in such a way. I lived to see this on television but nothing quite put me in the middle of this disaster than this documentary. In depth interviews with the mayor, governor and citizens of New Orleans and the Ninth Ward was so stripped down and raw, I couldn't do anything but weep. This is really the first motion picture or anything of that like to make me cry. I felt like I was there and experienced it. One thing that I applaud Spike for was keeping it real. Nothing was censored, which comes to no surprise because it's on HBO, but vivid portrayals of the environment such as dead bodies or backed up sewage, were shown and even when it wasn't you felt like you could see or smell it. The frustration of the people of New Orleans pierces your heart and you could do nothing but feel for them. In two hours, "When The Leeves Broke" taught me things and gave a lot of insight on the Hurricane Katrina fiasco. I eagerly await the final two hours.

A requiem is a service intended to express the emotions and beliefs of the survivors at the death of a loved one. A requiem is not an autopsy to determine the cause of death, and if Spike Lee intended a requiem, I think he has succeeded. Criticism that this film is not analytical and precise is actually a complaint that this was not an autopsy--but none was intended.

One day a documentary may be made which closely follows the chronology of the storm and the failure of the levees. A documentary may more closely focus on the devastation of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and the equally shameful failure of government to deal with the problem there. A documentary may be made which focuses on how daily life has changed for those of us who survived. I don't think Spike Lee intended to cover all of those points. The points he did address were very well presented.

The film is outstanding at communicating the grief, suffering and frustrations of the persons shown in the film. It is a very moving expression of emotion and belief, which is the purpose of a requiem.

I don't think the lack of government response is simply and solely attributable to racism, but that may be because I am white. In the film, that opinion was frequently expressed, but I also note that there were also some opinions expressed about the levees being intentionally dynamited. I think Spike Lee undercut the impact of his major premise by including a rumor that seems similar to the myths of Bigfoot or Elvis being alive.

I think the gross government ineptitude, inertia and political games are all well-documented, and the bottom line is that those persons who were financially able to take care of themselves fared better than those who were not--it's a matter of class and wealth, and not so much a matter of race.

In yesterday's news, it was noted that Congress earlier appropriated $17 billion to build new houses in the affected areas, and that as of this date (August 22, 2006), not a single house has been built with that money in either Louisiana or Mississippi.

Every American should see this documentary. Spike Lee has done an award winning film on the Katrina disaster. When America realizes that:the disaster was caused by the admitted poor construction of the Levees by the Army Corps of Engineers and the impact on the wetlands caused by the dredging of the outlet of the Mississippi river; and that 30 % of Americas oil and gas production comes off the Lousinana coastline, even though it is technically too far from the coast to generate direct revenue to the state of Louisiana; this disaster has Federal accountability. Whether or not the insurance companies have blame for calling the damage a result of flood, instead of the flood caused by the Hurricane (duh!), whatever is the cost of rebuilding the city should be born by the American taxpayer, or the appropriate budget reallocation. Spike Lee's documentary shows that both in human and logical terms, it's time for the American public to insist that our sister states that were damaged by Katrina be restored ASAP and both the levees and the oil/gas production be secured to a level appropriate with the risk. Thank god for the free press of our great nation.