Trouble the Water (2008) Reviews

• The specific nature of tragedy

  Michael Fargo2008-09-05

  It begins as a lark. A video camera is switched on to record an approaching storm. We get to meet the smiling faces of videographers as they laugh and cajole. We on the other hand know what's about to confront them. Or at least we think we do. This is a magnificent use of home video built in to a rage against poverty and illiteracy and racism. You can blame the victims here all you want, but image after image, scene after scene the plight of being an African American in this country is shoved in their faces...and in ours. The lives of this family in the Lower 9th Ward are vividly drawn by themselves. When they confront what is outside, i.e., the post-segregation South, we are startled at the condescension, scorn and devaluation of human lives...if your skin is the wrong color. The people here have no apologies for their lives. They lay it out and I suspect many will resist what struggles they face. But scene after scene, you can't walk away from this film without a better understanding of racism in America. The stubborn will ask "Why didn't they leave when they were supposed to?" And this film records "How were they supposed to?" and "Where were they going to go?" In the face of it all, those who survive manage here to triumph. While the footage of the disaster is why most people will buy the ticket to see this, it's the struggle to survive, not only Katrina, that will last in the viewer's mind.

• Go see it!

  Rucker2008-06-13

  A worthwhile trip through the disturbing events of Katrina, an honest film, even if on occasion not so subtly directing its viewers towards particular and easily-held opinions. There are several striking images in the film, including a recording of a 911 call in which an woman requesting help can't get out of her attic which is flooding. The 911 attendant has to inform her that there is no help at this time, and the victim replies, "So I'm going to die?" Silence on the other end of the line. It seems like the majority of the film is snatched from the video camera of a survivor, as such the footage can be, well, not professional, but in the end it doesn't matter, perhaps even adding to the realism. It turns out that the couple filming is a set of intriguing characters with admirable qualities. They are from the ninth ward, a poor section of New Orleans hit hardest by the storm, yet for those of us without that much contact with society's underbelly or the semi-destitute, they will probably surprise you with their values, intelligence, resolve and resourcefulness. The strength of the film for me was not in any attempts at blame or inciting anger at a lack of assistance and the seeming complacency of leadership, but in a reflection on the human struggle, manifested through an inspiring family, and in a basic reminder to examine, nourish, and befriend your own community.

• Strong documentary showing the test of human spirit

  jjcremin-12008-08-30

  Living at Los Angeles, I missed an opportunity of see Danny Glover, probably most famous as being the co-star of the Lethal Weapon series and one of the leads of Steven Spielberg's THE COLOR PURPLE, I stayed to see what I thought to be a most intriguing documentary of eye witness accounts of Hurricane Katrina. The day of this writing, August 29, 2008, another hurricane called Gustav threatens New Orleans again. This documentary won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance earlier this year. Interspersed with news programs, cars leaving the city and President Bush promising not to worry, help is on the way for all those in need, this shows a family being stranded right before, during and after Hurricane Katrina. For this family, there was not only not any help being on the way, photographic evidence that the government imposed obstacles to survivors who were too poor to evacuate. However, the general tone of this movie is that of a personal will of survival. That tone is set by Katherine Roberts, then aspiring rap artist, who shot the footage of being trapped, the danger being very well. Images shot just prior to the storm include an alcoholic uncle who will perish. The streets become rivers and the house just below them submerged. It shows a strong neighbor Frank swimming in the water helping the women and children. It should be noted that most of the documentary subjects are African American. Two weeks later, Katherine and her husband run into documentarians Tia Lessin and Carl Deal. With their help, the Roberts visually retell how they found a boat, loaded up grandma and the kids and were able to escape the very much underwater neighborhood. They recount how hundreds, actually thousands, were turned away from a near empty naval base. Turned away with the use of M-16 rifles. It must be noted Lessin and Deal initially planned to shoot a documentary of the Louisiana Brigade going to Iraq. After the hurricane happened, instead of helping in their own state, the brigade were shipped off to Iraq. The journey continues with the Roberts. They're able to get a truck and go up for refuge in South Memphis. They are amazed how a black community can be kept up and actually be in good neighborhoods partly due to the tourist trade Memphis gets. Speaking of the tourist trade, the French Quarter and Downtown where most of the tourists go are fixed right away. Almost comically to see a tourist commercial with the eighty per cent that still laid in ruins. The Roberts have trouble getting FEMA relief. By the way, a great version of John Lee Hooker's "Money" is played to a series of unsmiling faces. Katherine shows her chops as well. One of her hip hop songs is called "Amazing". The refrain roughly goes like this: "I don't need anyone else to tell me I'm amazing." Able to smile while endearing personal and financial loss was quite inspiring to see. Maybe I'm a black man trapped by a white man's body. Actually, I believe what affects one group affects us all. And I didn't need Danny Glover to enjoy this film. I do admit that it would have been more fun.

• A revelation

  storysplicer2008-09-18

  This is very dramatic and satisfying film on a character level in a way that When The Levees Broke, as good as it was, was not. I always prefer documentaries that are character driven. "Water" gives you a window into a world that usually is hermetically sealed from the rest of society, and humanizes the "ghetto" in a way I've never seen before. You really get to know the couple and you sympathize with them, even though they are far from what most people would call upstanding members of society. The world they come from is usually overlooked or glamorized in gangster films, but because Kim (the wife) did the filming of her community during the hurricane, it is authentic. It really is a testament to how technology (in this case, the amateur video camera) has democratized society and what is possible when the voiceless find their voice. It's the antidote to "Hustle and Flow" in EVERY way. When Kim raps, it comes at a devastating moment in the film and she has your full attention, and you identify with every word, and you totally understand why she is the way she is, and why rap can be such powerful poetry. It's not just some soundtrack. Musically, the film is great on many levels -- the score, and the other songs chosen.

• Flipping The Middle Finger To All That Deserve It (and jamming it into the eye socket,all the way to the 3rd knuckle)

  Seamus28292009-01-11

  Back in 2005, when Kimberly Roberts,a up & coming rapper from the 9th Ward in New Orleans first heard of what was going to be a major hurricane in her neck of the woods,she got her hands on a used video camera from a street hustler,looking to make a quick buck & started to record anything & everything she saw (with the assistance of her husband,Scott). Four days later,her world,as she knew it,drowned in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Documentary film makers Carl Deal & Tia Lessin (who had worked on 'Fahrenheit 9/11',etc.)were in New Orleans,filming all of the mass mayhem & became acquainted with the Roberts' & offered to use their crude,clumsy,kitchen sink video footage as part of their documentary film project. The results of this collaboration is 'Trouble The Water' (the title of a Gospel song that is heard on the soundtrack). This powerful film is cinema verite at it's best. It easily takes it's place among recently released documentaries on Katrina ('Camp Katrina',etc.). This documentary is produced by HBO,which means that it will probably turn up there some time later for those who missed the opportunity to see it in cinemas. No rating,but contains vulgar language & some disturbing sights & sounds.