Trouble the Water -- Ethan Feldman

In response to both points made by Noel Murray:

I would agree that the documentary lacked some focus. While there was a storyline to follow, the events involving Kim and her family, I felt that there were times that the documentary focused too strongly on facts and not enough on weaving a cohesive plot. That is, it was a bit hard to see a story line when the movie focused ostensibly on exposition and little on explanation. Yet, I do not see this as a great detractor to the film. The documentary was made to exhibit the tragedy of Katrina, and explore the story of Kim and her family. I believe it was successful in doing this, despite my occasional confusion due to an abundance of facts being thrown about.

I would disagree with what Murray has to say about the lack of footage from Kim's time during Katrina. To begin, it is ridiculous to believe that a woman who is fighting for her life should be critiqued for filming too little. Moreover, I was satisfied with the amount of footage taken, as it clearly showed each event Kim described, be it the time prior to the hurricane's landing, the hurricane begin, the retreat to higher ground, or the escape from the attic. It is incredible to believe that this woman has the focus to shoot this footage at all.

In all, I was very impressed by the documentary, as it moved me a great deal. At the time of the hurricane I had very little understanding of what was happening. That spring I went on a service trip to work on homes in Alabama and Mississippi that had been damaged by the storm. The trip flew in through New Orleans and we spent a day driving through the city. Seeing the destruction first hand, even without a personal connection was incredible, for lack of a better word. The devastation of the city, outside of the French Quarter and other higher areas, was like something from a science fiction movie. This documentary did its job of portraying this destruction and going on to show the ways in which Kim, and those like her, were not only neglected but opposed. The fact that in this day and age, in this country, that citizens can be so greatly mistreated is something that should be known by every person in the country and the world. The placement of America as a greater country than any should always be put in question for reasons such as this. I feel as though the documentary did an excellent job in showing what happened to the citizens of New Orleans on a personal level, not the political level that was often shown on news shows. The fact of the matter is that the atrocities were committed against people, real people, and the documentary did an excellent job of showing how they lived through it and are still living through the aftermath, with or without the full support of the government.