Let me start out by saying that when I first saw the trailer for this film post Sundance release I could already tell it was going to be a moving film. After watching it I was only reaffirmed in my intuition. That said I would like to point it that this was not a particularly informative documentary but that it not what it way trying to be. In order to understand any real tragedy one must first understand the stories of those who witnessed it and in this sense Trouble the Water is the truest telling of the story of Katrina I have seen to date.
This film allowed me, really for the first time, to truly sympathize with the people whose lives were destroyed by the tragedy. I was able to identify with the loss and the film's message of tragedy rang true.
It is important to note that this film is not only made up of raw first hand footage of the tragedy, it is interlaced with news footage, an outsider's perspective of what happened. Of course, the footage itself is matched with a musical track to stir emotion but it truly was the raw silence of the actual footage combined with the pounding of the rain in the background that truly was the most powerful.
Reviewers argue, when viewing this film, that it lacks focus. An interesting argument that I have to disagree with. The story is about a women and what happens to her. Most of the interwoven news footage only helps us to better understand what it is she went through. That said, there is an underlying commentary that repeatedly rears its ugly head that the troops overseas should have come home to help the Katrina victim. The argument is made so passively that it lacks focus and comes out as very one sided and narrow-minded. The film seems to play better as an emotional journey and should simply steer clear of a political agenda. That said, it is only a small part of the film as a whole and is not too much of a deterrent from the rest of the film as a result. Of course it is important for a film to have a focus, no matter how broad it may be. That of course is what separates a film, from simply a box of raw footage.
In retrospect, much of this film actually takes place after the hurricane itself. I think the question the journey of the film means to ask is not will the main characters survive the film (something revealed to us in the very first moments of the film) but rather what does it mean to have a life taken away and then having to work to rebuild it. The post Katrina part of the film is simply an act 2, not something to be scoffed at but rather something to be viewed a second chapter.
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I think that it is very difficult to address Hurricane Katrina and not touch on any politics when doing so. I agree that the insinuation of a troop reassessment is slightly absurd but I feel that some of the most paramount themes in this film are inseparable from politics. I feel that one of the messages in this film has to do with social class in that since people like Kim did not make much money, they were essentially denied their rights because of inconvenience on behalf of the provider. In fact, I think this to be a microcosm of many of the injustices following the initial touchdown of Katrina. I agree wholeheartedly that this movie has spiritual overtones but I do not think that it should be limited to that.
ReplyDeleteYou raise some very good points, Adam, about the mechanisms that the film uses (eg, 'a musical track to stir emotion') that I hope we'll be talking more about in the coming weeks.
ReplyDeleteI really like that you said the film was not trying to be as informative as some might think. I feel like the point of the film was to stir up emotions in the viewer, and I agree with you in that It was successful that way.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you about the soundtrack. As we watched the film I listened to the song choices (or the silence choices, as you mentioned) and was appreciative for the directors' choices. I think the background sounds they chose to implement were effective.
The way you conclude, saying the post-emergency period is also important and should be a second chapter, is also how I feel, and I appreciate your response to everything.