What breaks your heart is the film's accumulated firsthand stories of New Orleans residents who lost everything in the flood after Hurricane Katrina, and the dismaying conclusion that a year after the disaster, the broken city has been largely abandoned.
When the Levees Broke is like the New Orleans jazz funeral -- a dirge on the way to the cemetery, an up-tempo parade in the deceased's honor on the bittersweet walk back home.
Do the flaws diminish Levees? To a degree. But the story Lee tells is so powerful, so important, that the lapses aren't a reason not to pay heed to what this passionate film has to say.
There's no way to truly distill this triumph into a handful of words. The ghosts of so many color the corners of a mournful poem and a powerful prayer that's pissed off, hopeful, practical, empathetic and one of the most important documentaries ever made.
This masterpiece of human movie making acts as an indictment of a system that still uses race and class as a determining factor when it comes to relief - and paints a shocking portrait of a society lost in mixed meanings and misguided messages.
Despite capturing many heartbreaking aspects of the disaster, this is essentially an overambitious mess which ultimately fails to convey effectively the scale or scope of the ongoing tragedy.
It's the depth and weight of Freeman Jr's or Michael Wright's or Phyllis Leblanc's words, the anger and sadness behind them, that surge forth here, sinking the political elite's murderously empty promises.
Despite capturing many heartbreaking aspects of the disaster, this is essentially an overambitious mess which ultimately fails to convey effectively the scale or scope of the ongoing tragedy.
Aside from 'Crooklyn' I can't say that I'm a big Spike Lee fan.
But this documentary is so INCREDIBLY well done that I can forgive him some of the mediocre/crappy films he has made prior to this.
Spike brings a face (several actually) and a heart (albeit broken) to the tragic events following hurricane Katrina.
An
event that is a true disgrace to our country and the good people of the gulf coast. And will forever be a scar on the face of our history as Americans.
If this film doesn't bring tears to your eyes, an ache to your heart and a ball of anger to your stomach...then you are either heartless or a Republican (possibly both?).
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