On Lily’s TiVo: “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts”

I just got finished watching Spike Lee’s two day, four-hour documentary “When the Levees Broke” on HBO (Thank you Direct TV for giving me an East Coast feed!). Now, when one mentions Spike Lee, your first thoughts normally run to his movies such as “Do the Right Thing” or “Bamboozled.” A gifted movie maker, one of the hallmarks of Lee’s films is often the hard and harsh delivery of their messages. It’s normally very black and white (no pun intended). There is good and there is bad, but hardly any middle ground. And because of it, most people’s reaction is to either love him or hate him. He doesn’t float my boat…so normally, I pass on his movies.

Keeping this in mind, I can honestly say that no other person in the industry could have made this documentary.

"When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts” is a powerful and moving record of the destruction that was brought on by last year’s Hurricane Katrina. Lee’s freakishly sick talent as a storyteller shines as he pulls from many resources to piece together who, what, when, where, and why things went the way they did.

Three months after the hurricane hit, Lee and a small crew made the very first of several trips to the ravaged location that is New Orleans, LA. The crew did the requisite interviews of politicians (Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans’ Mayor Ray Naglin), celebrities who helped raise the awareness of the situation (Harry Belafonte and Kanye West), celebrities who just wanted to lend a hand (Sean Penn), and experts (members of Operation Guardian, engineering experts from all over the U.S., and historians). With these people, the mechanics of the situation are broken down as the facts of the case.

But the stars of this movie are the actual denizens of New Orleans. Their interviews comprise the heart of the story. They put a face to the devastation and remind us that the struggle to survive is strong within human beings. You hear the fear in Phyllis Montana LeBlanc’s voice when she relives her ordeal post-Katrina. We get a view into the depth of history as local after local explains how Katrina will not be the end of one of the world’s most exciting cities. Your heart will squeeze as you hear stories of loss, frustration, and hope from residents who continue to live in places whose names will become as familiar as your own neighborhood.

Gentilly. St. Bernard. Uptown. It’s the story of a very real place with very real faces.

As is usually the case with documentaries, or films in general, is that there is an antagonist and a protagonist. On your usual Spike Lee Joint, that decision is made for you. But in this case, Lee presents facts from both sides. The good, the bad, and the ugly. You might expect him to set out on a witch hunt to set blame somewhere. And there are a great number of fingers to point. However, Lee instead chooses to present footage and interviews in a way to allow the viewer to decide on their own where the blame should be placed.

In an extremely polarizing event, Lee sits back and let’s you create your own personal experience. Hurricane Katrina ranks up there with disasters such as the 1906 Great Quake of San Francisco in terms of the scale of destruction and loss of human life. Lee could easily have made the failure of the system a racial issue. Instead, he pulls back and let’s the audience see the entire picture. And that picture is not pretty as the film also showcases the loss of life and desolate landscape the city has become.

“When the Levees Broke” is definitely a must watch. Like I said recently, once we put distance between ourselves and a major event, we forget its impact. While I don't need to see a cineplex version of 9/11, I did need to see and learn about Katrina's victims. And in this case...we meet these victims first hand, their emotions raw and reality sitting right beside them. Lee made the right movie at the right time, with the right voice. This should be one of the major highlights in his filmmaking career.

“When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts” will play in it’s entirety on the 1st anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall on August 29th on HBO. Check your local listings for time.