Review: Trouble the Water (2008) ****
Kim Rivers Roberts and Scott Roberts as we meet them in Trouble the Water
One sign of a good documentary filmmaker is the ability to shift gears and abandon preconceived notions when a story changes unexpectedly. In the case of Carl Deal and Tia Lessin, the story that became their hurricane Katrina documentary Trouble the Water was very different from the one they’d set out to find. It’s also different than what you might expect from the producers behind the politically charged documentaries Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine.
Originally intending to examine the lives of Louisiana National Guard Soldiers who’d returned home from Iraq to find their homes and neighborhoods destroyed, the filmmakers’ interview access was suddenly squeezed off during filming and they were left without a story to tell. Rather than give up and go home, they kept filming. That’s when Kimberly and Scott Roberts walked into their camera frame and Trouble the Water was born.
A few days before hurricane Katrina hit, Kimberly had purchased a video camera on the street for $20. With no means of transportation, she and her husband remained behind while New Orleans was evacuated, never believing that the levees protecting their Ninth Ward neighborhood would fail. As the city emptied and as the winds picked up, Kimberly started filming. She captured the rising waters and their retreat to the attic before her battery died.
No official help ever came but Kimberly and Scott were eventually rescued by a neighbor floating people out on a punching bag. Over the next several days they made their way to higher ground and eventually to a Red Cross shelter where they met Lessin and Deal.
Intrigued by the footage the couple had captured but also recognizing that here was a human face to the Katrina disaster, the filmmakers convinced the couple to let them tell their story. Taking the Roberts’ harrowing brush with Mother Nature and combining it with the story of their ongoing struggle to carry on with life in the aftermath of the storm, a powerful personal portrait emerges. It’s an inspiring tale of the survival of two people for whom Katrina was just the latest in a long line of traumas, but it also raises serious questions about how an entire segment of society can be neglected in a nation that likes to call itself the most powerful on earth.
By having the patience and discipline to allow Kimberly and Scott’s story (and the stories of the people they meet along the way) dominate the film while only occasionally injecting their own point of view, Lessin and Deal allow the viewer to be drawn into the drama (instead of being turned off by strident politics). Minds are opened rather than closed and that’s where conversation and perhaps healing begins.
It turns out they could not have picked a better pair to follow. Kimberly and Scott freely acknowledge they’ve had troubled pasts, but they are charming, funny and easily likeable people. There is a little bit of the street hustler to them, but time and again they reach out to help friends, neighbors and strangers who are worse off than they are themselves. For them, that’s what a community does, particularly one that has learned it can’t rely on outside assistance. In the end, Kimberly and Scott’s indomitable spirit and unwillingness to let their dark history keep them from a brighter future is inspiring.
Trouble the Water is a double-edged sword, however. Not everyone we meet has the strength of spirit or advantages of youth that the Robertses have and the story doesn’t end as well for everyone. From the mid-storm 911 recordings of panicked residents being told that no rescue is coming, to the relatives who didn’t make it out alive and the friends made along the way who were unable to put their lives back together, Kimberly and Scott are surrounded by a devastating human tragedy.
Though the cameras have turned elsewhere and the headlines have moved on to other stories, New Orleans continues to struggle and there are still many questions about the storm and about this country that remain unanswered. Intellectual arguments about small government or large government are easy to make in a vacuum, but here is a very real example of what happens when a community is left behind. Do we really want to continue to turn our backs on the segment of society that struggles the most?
Trouble the Water. USA 2008. Directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal. Cinematography by PJ Raval and Kimberly Rivers Roberts. Score composed by Neil Davidge and Robert “3D” del Naja. Edited by T. Woody Richman. Starring Kimberly Rivers Roberts, Scott Roberts, Brian Nobles, Larry Simms, Kendall “Wink” Rivers and Jerome Baham. 1 hour 34 minutes. Not rated by the MPAA. 4 stars (out of 5).
Filed under: Reviews
Tags: Carl Deal, Kimberly Rivers Roberts, Scott Roberts, Tia Lessin, Trouble the Water
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The “double edge sword” argument is sound, methinks. Wonderful recapitulation of the film from both a contexual standpoint as well as an examination of its creation. This is a sensitive subject and your treatment is passionate and dignified, a fine final word after the interview piece.
I will be seeing the film either tonite or tomorrow night; I am juggling it with the Czech film and a few others, but I will have more to say at that time.
The shakey camera in parts of this one makes Cloverfield look like Ozu so try and sit as far back in the auditorium as you can. Other than that, enjoy!
“…makes Cloverfield look like Ozu…”
HA!
Excellent review, Craig, I’m looking forward to this…
LOL!!!! Interesting point there Craig, I will keep that in mind!
I don’t mean that as a criticism at all. But the chunks of amateur footage blown up on a big screen can be a little dizzying.
WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!
Ryan Adams has just posted a thread at AWARDS DAILY, showcasing this very review by Craig, as well as his interview, he is urging all to tune into LIC. Now that is great coverage and well-earned too!
Me and the monkeys are huge fans of Ryan and Sasha.
I caught this film yesterday and made the mistake of sitting too close. That’s really my only criticism — the amateur camera work is difficult to follow. But the alternative — not having the footage at all — would be unacceptable. The story, in its bump-and-jitter realness, is so compelling that camera issues are nothing but a pesky little fly in comparison.
How often are we the beneficiaries of eyewitness accounts of a major event that so effectively bring us to the moment? Seeing hurricane hounds like Anderson Cooper hugging a utility pole wearing a rain slicker? Gimme a break.
Imperfect as they are, the characters of this drama are compelling in and of themselves as we see them rise to the occasion as human beings right before our eyes. Images of 9/11 rescue teams or news footage of 35W bridge collapse workers may be riveting, but these New Orleans residents bring about a depth of feeling one rarely sees onscreen.
I’m glad that the filmmakers kept editorializing to a minimum. We don’t need to see a bunch of “Brownie, you’re doing a helluva job” clips when we’ve got something much better to watch.
Excellent review, Craig. I thought this movie was excellent, and whether one likes Michael Moore or not there’s no doubt that he sees to it that important stuff gets out there. This is a must-see and I’ve been recommending it (and Man on Wire of course) to everyone I talk to.
This couple was pretty damn amazing, particularly the faith they continued to have all through it.
It’s infuriating what went on, the blatant attitude that some people matter and some people don’t that permeates our government and our culture. The fact that hospital staff can just leave patients behind like that, prison guards can bail out and leave the prisoners there to die from the hurricane or starvation is outrageous. And the naval base with hundreds of empty rooms and they wouldn’t let people take refuge there. Proof that a lot of people in the world, and particularly in this country, really suck.
Glad you caught this one Alison and that you’re spreading the good word.
What I liked about it especially was that the filmmakers didn’t whitewash the characters. They allowed them to be the flawed characters that they were. Human beings unashamed of their past but hopeful for their future.
You’ll be happy to learn that they’re still together and they have a new(ish) baby girl.
Finally caught this one and I must say, excellent review. I had a rough idea of what I was getting into reading part of your review when you originally published it and the interview with the directors, but I didn’t fully grasp that a movie about Katrina would end up being a commentary on the lowest rungs of society and how America has neglected them (and continues to).
The most interesting part of this film is that neither Kim nor Scott hide anything about themselves over the course of the film, other than their gracious efforts to help others in the immediate aftermath of the storm. While I’m sure it will turn off some viewers, hearing their stories broadens the scope of this doc from a tragic historic low point in American history to a commentary on those left behind by America, especially by our current government.
Great film.
Not only are they completely open about their checkered pasts, they never really complain about their situation. They just keep making the best of it.
I asked Kim about that in the (as yet) untranscribed portion of the interview and she basically said that they’ve really just learned not to depend on the government for anything and Katrina was nothing different.
Three of my favorite scenes: when she finds her dog and the picture of her mother, when she’s talking to her family in Memphis and the woman says she won’t let her son fight for a country that doesn’t care about him and the scene where she finds the CD she recorded and breaks into a spontaneous performance of her song. Moving stuff.
Yeah, I’d agree with all three of those moments. I also love the scene where Scott’s newfound boss is explaining the simple reason why he hired him. Gives me hope that anyone can make a better life if they really want it, even if that may be an idealistic belief for many.
That was a good scene. Amid all that horror and neglect it was nice seeing someone do the right thing for the right reasons.
Just saw this yesterday, and liked it quite a bit. Although I admit this was the first time I have ever felt motion sick in a film…that usually doesn’t bother me at all, CLOVERFIELD gave me no problems…but there was something about this that made me have to close my eyes at a few points to get my bearings and keep from getting sick.
Maybe I was just in a strange mood.
Good review, especially in how you highlight its non-political nature. Here’s mine if you’re interested: http://fromthefrontrow.blogspot.com/2008/11/review-trouble-water.html
I was sort of prepared for the Cloverfield action and I agree it was kind of stomach churning though there was less of it than I expected.