Too much of everything

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This documentary is intensely powerful, all 4 parts of it - easily over 4 or 5 hours in total (I watched it all from beginning to end in one sitting and lost track of time). The purity of the depiction is very refreshing, free of the overbearingly pompous moral platitudes of someone like Michael Moore. No voice-over, just the just the voices of people involved in the disaster. Yes, it is clear what side the filmmaker is on. However, the way the film is produced is balanced, thought-provoking and insightful in such a way that one simply cannot argue with what it is saying. It is incredibly poignant, but there is no sentimentality here - there 's simply no need for it, because the tragedy is so stark and numbing in its extremity. The scale of the tragedy is too huge for any lens to capture, but this is probably the closest most outsiders could ever get to feeling the pain of the New Orleans people. It is clear this was an unprecedented event, and it really does require the depth and scope that a 4 or 5 hour examination makes possible. It is always compulsive viewing, and while the subject matter is impossibly dark, it does show some wonderful flashes of human strength and positivity that provide some hope. In short, it is a masterpiece of documentary film-making, and a very courageous project.** spoilers and discussion below **The first 2 parts cover the buildup to and immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It is harrowing and painful. It is incredible to see 'third-world' scenes of utter devastation and people so viciously stripped of their humanity and dignity on American soil. You will see dead bodies hideously swollen and decomposed, shell-shocked children whose last memory of their home is watching their parents die. Words honestly fail me when trying to convey the horrors depicted here. It is not easy viewing, but in a way it is our duty to watch it.Nothing can prepare you for acts 3 and 4 that cover the longer-term aftermath. This is a mind-boggling story of an entire people, community and culture sold out and literally left to rot. Families are separated and dispersed around the country, left to fend for themselves. Work on clearing up the city doesn't even start for 6+ months after the event. On top of everything else, property developers are trying to steal citizens' bare land with the government's help (it's very profitable you see). It is a shameful indictment of the corrupt and subhuman way that the US is run. To any sane person watching, there is absolutely no doubt that the government of the US does not care about its people. For this reason alone this is probably the most important film that Spike Lee will ever make.I am saddened by the criticism of this film in some of the reviews here. The film is clearly not only about black people, even though when a city has such a large black majority it is inevitable that race will become an issue. Wake up America, the only place in the world with such segregated communities was South Africa during apartheid. There are a lot of clearly shocked white people here, quite obviously feeling absolutely betrayed by the government and system they formerly believed in. It seems almost like the negative reviewers are hired ghouls of the government out to discredit this film and its maker. The more cynical would say "well, what right do these people have to receive anything for free?" - I would implore these people to watch act 4. Lawful citizens who have paid years of tax and insurance, building a livelihood out of nothing with their bare hands, are told they will get nothing - theft and fraud on a grand scale. How does this fit into the American dream? How do you know that it won't happen to you tomorrow?The most incredible thing you realise after watching this film is that somewhere along the line, life and humanity became expendable and cheaper than the paper we worship. The only thing that means anything anymore is money and power, and the only way to grow is to acquire more of it. This documentary shows how empty and destructive this philosophy actually is. I'm happy that Spike Lee still has the balls to make films like this.The other thing you're left wondering at the end is: what more does it actually take for people to wake up and realise what is happening? What is this 'freedom' that is being sold to the world with a gun to its head?By the way if you think I'm a typical internet anarcho-commie rebel, you could not be further from the truth. I work, pay taxes, bills, all the rest of it, just like any honest citizen. Read my other reviews, I'm not some kind of reactionary Infowars sheep. However I refuse to bury my head in the sand, and after watching this film you will also find it hard to do so. The truth is here, more vivid, brutal and real than CNN could ever be. You owe it to yourself to watch it.

I borrowed this DVD from the Library and watched it all in one evening. Very moving and extremely well done.However, there is one complaint I have, or perhaps because I did watch it all in 6 hours straight, I missed this.Spike Lee shows some footage of the RCMP in dress uniform (obviously not taken in New Orleans at that time, but from some performance footage from elsewhere) and mentions only in passing about offers from other countries to help with the rescue/recovery programs.My first comment is that he neglects to mention that Fidel Castro in Cuba had 1600 doctors ready to go, but Cuba received no response from the White House to this offer.My second comments is that he neglects to honor those people - groups and individuals who traveled to New Orleans to do search and rescue for people and for animals. In such a dismal and sad commentary on the slow reaction of the United States Government and its affiliated organizations to this tragedy, nothing is said of the thousands of individuals and groups who contributed money and time - surely the only bright light in this terrible situation. And surely showing that there still is hope for humanity when compassionate and caring people (Americans, Canadians and persons from other countries as well) traveled thousands of miles to help complete strangers.Recognizing these wonderful acts of kindness and compassion would not have taken away from the tone of the film, but would rather have added to it as a contrast to what the official line was.I think Spike Lee produced a wonderful documentary. But I also think he missed an opportunity to show that there is still incredible goodness in the people of the United States and those from other countries who contributed to the search and rescue and recovery programs.

I apologise for stealing another person's point but I will make reference to the review written by Ric-7 and the first point he makes. A requiem is like a lament, a time to reflect and grieve over a loss or event. An autopsy or an enquiry is not a lament but is a clear look at the loss or event to identify the reasons for it. By putting requiem in the title of his film, Lee is making it clear for everyone that the intension is to grieve over that happened rather than deliver a precise factual opinion on what happened. So criticisms that this isn't precise and a tighter affair are unfair.However having said that the film does a great job of providing balance – surprisingly so from Spike Lee, who I expected to play the race card, play everything up and point fingers in a one-sided diatribe. It could not have been further from the truth though because the film is actually pretty balanced. Of course there is an inevitable slant towards how terrible this whole shooting match was and is but then that is more to do with the fact that the whole event was terrible in all sorts of ways rather than the makers over-egging the cake. Set out in four acts the film deals with the build up and hitting of Katrina in act 1; the aftermath and response of the authorities in act 2; the human fall out as the evacuees try to cope in act 3 and finally the attempts to clear the city and look back in act 4.Watching it is a difficult experience. This is not because of the running time though, because it is so consistently engaging that I found my intentions to watch it in four parts turned into one sitting that seemed a lot shorter than it was. No, it is a difficult experience because of the emotions that hit you throughout. The loss of those caught up is well painted and several contributions had me crying although the film doesn't let us accept all of the victims as blameless and does feature people stating that they chose to stay. Of course the majority were expected to pick up their poverty and head across America to wherever and this makes up the secondary emotional hit. The film does show the things we know about – Bush's administration apparent lack of interest, the mess with FEMA and so on but it doesn't dwell on it that much and it doesn't get into finger pointing much beyond this – again we know this already and I doubt anyone looks at Bush's role in the aftermath and views him with anything other than embarrassment. For this reason it is also nice to be reminded of Barbara Bush's comment that many of the victims were better off living in a sports arena in Texas – I would laugh if I hadn't been sickened.However the film follows this with two acts on the wider aftermath and the pain continues. The second half of the series does get a bit slower and "matter of fact" but still remains gripping. It looks at families thrown all over the US; the lack of victim support and the emotional suffering that continued long after the event. The contributors make the film and they are almost always used well. Most people talk from the heart and are engaging as a result. There are plenty of people who make attacks and sweeping statements. The film doesn't just let these stand though and does include retractions and corrections on rumours such as those of children being raped etc. There aren't any contributions that I can think of that don't add much and nobody hogs the screen – the film uses them well.Visually the film looks good in the footage shot by Lee. As much of the first acts is archive footage you don't get that much of an impression of his style but even his framing of his interviews shows his style. His use of music is good and it was a good call to use the title credit music from 25th Hour to open the 3rd act as it makes a good link between the two events. Overall then a fascinating and emotionally impacting review of the Katrina affair. It is surprisingly balanced and held me easily for four hours and stands as a lament for the human suffering and the political forces that simply don't seem willing or able to work it out.

Spike Lee is certainly not correct about levees being blown,but the truth is even worse.He is certainly nearer to the truth than people who blame "the force of the hurricane".As one who rode out both Katrina and Hurricane Betsy in the same house in Gentilly,it was obvious at the time that Katrina was no worse.The lake levees,which were properly built,though exposed to the full force of the storm,came through unscathed.What collapsed and flooded the main part of the city west of the Industrial Canal were those worthless,cracker box,stage-prop "flood walls" along the drainage canals that folded up and collapsed like cheap card tables the minute the water rose.Besides the Corps of Engineers,we can blame former Mayor "Slimy Sidney" Barthelemy"The Man Who Murdered A City".He deliberately forced out the veteran engineers of the Sewage & Water Board,so that no one would object to those worthless (but profitable) frauds.AND he had the valuable assistance of the alleged "newspaper",the Times Picayune which covered up his criminality. The incompetent stooges that Barthelemy replaced the experienced engineers with not only approved those worthless flood walls that the old engineers knew were disasters waiting to happen,but, still infesting the Sewage & Water Board to this day,insanely dredged the drainage canals in such a way as to remove what little foundations those flood walls had.The 17th St. Canal shows this graphically.This sits astride the parish line.Jefferson Parish engineers refused to allow this lunatic dredging on THEIR side of the canal, which is why only the Orleans side collapsed.A year before Katrina, people living along the drainage canals complained of salt water seeping into their yards, killing plants.To a COMPETENT,HONEST engineer this a clear sign that something was dangerously wrong with the levee foundations.But the Barthelemy "engineers" swept it under the rug,telling people that they were "imagining things".And as for blaming those who wouldn't evacuate,If one thing was proved, it is that evacuating a city this size IS NOT PRACTICAL.New Orleans could and should have been an impregnable fortress against hurricanes.The vast bulk of the misery caused by Barthelemy's Flood was the destruction of the homes,and LIVES of the "survivors",who now have to live,or rather EXIST in this horror.The empty city was picked clean by looters despite the presence of thousands of police and National Guard,which shows that it is the PEOPLE who are the real crime deterrents.Telling people,"Get out, let the hurricane and the looters destroy your homes and businesses,and we will give you sardine can trailers to live in" is typical of the garbage we hear from the government.