Bankruptcy

New Documentary on New Orleans

By J. Michael McBride

Here is an article about a movie which I have not seen, but would like to see. It is about a woman who made a home movie of her neighborhood and hurricane Katrina, before and during and after it happened. She lives in the Ninth Ward and her story sounds like one of a community coming together to fight a major common problem when no one was there to assist them.

“Aug. 22, 2008--There are moments in Trouble the Water, the searing new documentary on Hurricane Katrina, particularly in the hours before the hurricane lands, when you think the central character, Kimberly Rivers Roberts, just doesn't get it. She's got her video camera trained on her Ninth Ward block, playfully interrogating everybody about what they're gonna do when Katrina comes roaring in. They all look around, notice the rest of the city has bailed and shrug.

…

And it's clear from the outset of this gripping film that few in Roberts' community can do much about the fact that the city has abandoned them. They've been told to evacuate. But they don't have cars or money to leave. So they laugh in the face of horror. Little girls on bikes taunt the storm; old men serve up false bravado; corner drunks carry on drinking; and everybody takes up the usual front-stoop post to speculate about what tomorrow will bring.”

Here is a link to the article: http://www.theroot.com/id/47748/page/1

Michael

Full post as published by Texas Lawyer Blog on August 25, 2008 (boomark / email).