I am a fan of Spike Lee's, but have been disappointed with some of his latest films. However, this film is the first documentary that truly feels real. I am from Los Angeles, and was in Iraq when Katrina destroyed New Orleans, so I never truly understood what happened in the Gulf Coast, other than that it was tragedy, and some one in our government dropped the ball. I watched When the Levees Broke in one 4 1/2 hour sitting, and I was moved from beginning to end. The first 2 hours frightened me in ways that no other film has ever come close to. For the first time, I felt like a helpless child in the hands of incompetence, and if this is what I felt like watching the travesty, then what the hurricane victims felt was beyond my comprehension. The first two acts were truly disturbing, but Lee does a fantastic job of showing the optimism of the residents of New Orleans in the final two acts. After all the chaos and uncertainty that they faced, the residents are still showing courage and determination that most would not be able to summon after such tragedies. When the film concluded, I was not sad any more, but eager: I was eager to see what great things these people would accomplish as they rebuild the land they love. When the Levees Broke is a wonderful, inspirational story about loving and losing, fear and determination, and every human emotion in between. But most importantly, it is a film about the human spirit, and the will to survive.
