Sunday, August 31, 2008
A+E, Movies, Reviews

Heroes, villains emerge from Katrina’s ‘Troubled’ waters

'Trouble the Water' in theaters now

It’s appropriate that the title “Trouble the Water” comes from the spiritual “Wade in the Water,” because this documentary by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal wades into the same waters Spike Lee dove into with “When the Levees Broke”: the floodwaters released in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Only 40 percent as long as Lee’s opus, “Trouble” doesn’t try to cast as wide a net, although TV clips fill in the big picture. With the hurricane moving in, Kimberly Roberts and her husband, Scott, are stranded in the city. Ninth Ward residents are left to their own resources for days. A dozen or so wind up in the Roberts’ attic, while a neighbor, Larry Simms, rescues people from their houses using a punching bag as a flotation device.

When the Roberts meet the directors at a Red Cross shelter, a documentary is born. The filmmakers follow the Roberts to a relative’s home in Memphis—where we discover that Kim is also a rapper, Black Kold Madina—and ultimately back to New Orleans.

The focus on one poor black couple and their extended family is full of the redemption angles Hollywood loves, as people involved with illegal drugs become heroes and turn their lives around, while a villainous government leaves them to die. The film’s most distinctive aspect, which makes parts of it hard to watch, is camcorder footage shot by Kimberly Roberts of her neighborhood, where legitimate media feared to tread. The novice’s shaky, jerky camerawork captures images and insights you’ll see nowhere else. 3 STARS—Steve Warren