Dead dogs and debris lie alongside the road in what looks like a Third World country. But it's not. This is America - New Orleans, to be exact, just weeks after Hurricane Katrina hit.
Produced and directed by the makers of "Fahrenheit 911" and "Bowling for Columbine," "Trouble the Water" is a powerful documentary that gives a firsthand look at the true devastation that resulted from neglect by the American government to respond to the citizens of New Orleans. Armed with a camcorder, street-savvy couple Kim and Scott Roberts document their struggle to survive during and after the hurricane. As flood waters continued to rise in the Lower Ninth Ward, the amateur and often shaky viewpoints from the camera give viewers a sense of urgency and fear.
Kim immediately answers the question everyone had been asking: "Why didn't they leave?" It's simple. Fleeing the storm, for the residents of the Lower Ninth Ward, would have been a luxury which no one in the neighborhood could afford. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, the film delves into the crime and poverty that surrounds the New Orleans community.
The couple ride the storm out in their leaky attic along with neighbors, sharing food, fellowship and hope. Kim, who is an aspiring rapper, narrates as turmoil and uncertainty rain down outside. Little did the couple and their neighbors know, just blocks away the levees had failed. Water continues to rise inside the house and the group realizes they must take action. People who might normally be perceived as street hustlers and thugs turn into caring heroes, helping each other survive. One man uses a washed-up punching bag to swim through a sea of water to transport women, children and the elderly to higher ground.
Perhaps a little too real to swallow are the 911 calls replayed during the film - calls made during the hurricane as people were told there would be no help.
Familiar scenes from the Superdome flash on the screen as a reminder that just because the storm was over, the devastation was not. The Robertses and all the other residents of New Orleans had to figure out what life would be like post Hurricane Katrina. Surviving the storm had been no easy feat and surviving afterward would be no easier.
A year after the rains stopped pouring and the 165 mile-per-hour winds ceased, much of the Lower Ninth Ward still looked like Katrina had just greeted the neighborhood with her fury. Just miles away tourist attractions teemed with out-of-towners eager to experience the city. It seemed like the entire world had forgotten everything that had happened. But the heartbreaking story of "Trouble the Water" will never let the victims of Hurricane Katrina be forgotten.
Jamila Williams can be reached at williams.2856@osu.edu.
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