Kimberly and Scott Roberts in Trouble the Water (Zeitgeist Films)
Trouble the Water (opening October 10 at Landmark's Ken Cinema) took home the well-deserved Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The film offers a very personal account of Hurricane Katrina by essentially focusing on Kimberly Rivers Roberts, an aspiring rap artist who with her husband Scott was trapped in the 9th Ward when the hurricane hit. Kimberly had a home video camera and began shooting footage as soon as she and her neighbors starting seeing hurricane warnings on the news. Their remarkable home video footage was then incorporated into the documentary Trouble the water. Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine producers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal were fortunate enough to hook up with Roberts and to further document her story in the weeks and months following the devastation of the hurricane. The result is an amazingly intimate, powerful, and ultimately hopeful film about survival and unexpected second chances.
Kimberly and Scott described themselves as street hustlers but when the hurricane hits, Scott proves to be something of a hero helping others in need. In the aftermath of the hurricane, the couple run into problems with FEMA and witness the devastation to their neighborhood and surrounding areas. One of Kimberly's relatives describes how the aftermath is something that she would have expected in a third world country but not in the U.S. She feels that an underlying racism prompted the lack of response from the government and she tearfully explains how she won't let her son join the army of a country that has so neglected African Americans in the aftermath of Katrina. There's also an effectively enraging moment when a perky young woman plays a tourism video showing all the splendor of New Orleans and then we see the still devastated areas of the region, places where no help or money is coming in. Scenes like these are what make Trouble the Water so effective.
Trouble the Water (unrated) maintains a devastatingly effective first person narrative as it chronicles Katrina and its aftermath. You feel a sense of outrage that more has not been done to help these people. But the amazing thing is that despite all the hardships, all the government indifference, all the losses, the Roberts remain stunningly positive and hopeful. Their strength of spirit buoys what could have been a much bleaker film.
Companion viewing: When the Levees Broke, Bowling for Columbine
