Trouble the Water

I will be the first to admit that I am not a huge fan of documentaries.  I would prefer, when given the chance, to be swept away to anywhere other than reality.  Between this fact and my unwillingness to sit through two hours of upsetting footage I was somehow coerced into the viewing of Trouble the Water.  Art Street held a Friday night viewing of the documentary focusing on the events before, during and after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. I have never left a movie with such a strange mix of emotions.  The film managed to leave me feeling saddened, hopeful, joyous, unhelpful and very, very fortunate. 

 A majority of the movie was filmed by a family forced to stay in their home during the hurricane and allowed the viewers to experience their hardships first hand.  Their lack of steady income was the reason they could not afford a car resulting in the entire family almost drowning after being forced to flee to their attic in order to avoid the water.  Although the family was stuck narrowly avoiding death from the flood and a lack of food, they managed to capture some amazing footage of the storm that caused so much damage.  While the watching the storm unfold was shocking, nothing could prepare me for the footage from the aftermath.  

Surviving the hurricane was one thing.  Surviving after the hurricane was a whole different story.  As if I was not already stressed from watching the waters rise and food supply diminish as well as sea sick from the amateur camera work, all I needed was to experience the family’s struggles for the next two months of their lives.  With no home, no money, no car and no support, the family was forced to continue with their struggle to survive. Along with being with the family through their struggle to find a new life where they clearly were not welcome it was heartbreaking to see the state of New Orleans even months after he hurricane hit. 

After they lost everything, the family swore they were going to leave and start a new life.  Their positive outlook on a horrid situation was what managed to make the film bearable for me.  The sad part was watching them fall back into the same situations, forced to return home to a place destructed by the natural disaster because of a lack of opportunity.  The fact that there is still so much left unnoticed by the media, forgotten by the public left me saddened.  The fact that a family could go through so much and still stay so strong left me hopeful.  The fact that people can still stay so positive after something so horrific left me joyful.  The fact that I am here and not there doing what I can left me feeling unhelpful.  The fact that I am able to leave the film (which managed to turn me into a documentary appreciator) and walk back to my dorm to learn more things to help me be successful and have the ability to see the and appreciate the people I love left me feeling very, very fortunate.          

Trouble the Water Film Information