Short review: When the Leeves Broke: Requiem in Four Acts (Acts 1 & 2). Director: Spike Lee.
I want to state from the beginning that my review of the first half of this documentary is a little skewed. I’m a Katrina evacuee and a Spike Lee fan so I’m totally biased. Plus, for about 30 minutes, when the film was getting really good, the satellite started going kooky because of a storm. I am now rewatching the film to get the part I missed.
What a film, though, what a film. Spike Lee did not let us down. The beginning is absolutely beautiful because Louis Armstrong, our city’s patron jazz saint, is singing while there is scrolling footage of flooded streets, stranded evacuees and old Mardi Gras scenes. He was able to capture what it is about New Orleans that makes it stand out from other cities. Where else do people play jazz music and dance at a funeral or where do Blacks dress up in beaded “Indian” attire to pay homage to the brave Native Americans who helped Black slaves revolt against their masters? No where else. No where else. And I felt too proud.
Now, this film is a little different from Lee’s usual style, wherethere’s usually a hyper focus on racial issues. This time, while he does focus on the race and class issues surrounding Hurricane Katrina, he gives the viewer a diverse array of New Orleanians. We hear stories from African-American politicians, well-to-do Whites, poor Whites, poor Blacks, actors, activists, meteorologists, musicians (well, it’s New Orleans so musicians are like our spokespeople), and students. There are appearances by Michael Eric Dyson, Sean Penn, Harry Belafonate, the Marsalis family, former mayor Marc Morial, Rev. Al Sharpton, and so many others. Spike Lee also has a way with soundtracks and he uses New Orleans musicians such as Terrence Blanchard and Branford Marsalis. It’s hard to avoid the musical legacy of New Orleans and nearly impossible not to play some jazz, gospel or zydeco.
I believe that any criticisms towards Spike Lee’s film being too racially focused are unfounded. We know that Spike Lee doesn’t mince words and there’s some heavy criticism launched at Governor Blanco, Mayor Nagin and especially President Bush. As one New Orleans resident stated, “Bush gives C average students a bad name.” And we have to remember that New Orleans was, prior to Hurricane Katrina, 70% African-American. About 100,000 residents did not own cars and most children lived under the poverty line. So with numbers like this, how could the issues of race and class be avoided? This film could not have been done without touching on these issues but Spike Lee, in my opinion doesn’t overdo it.
Another aspect of this film that I loved was the New Orleanians themselves. Do you want to understand our language and our way of thinking? Watch the film. Subhan’Allah, just listening to these people brought me back and it was as if this last year in Georgia never happened. I had to laugh because we talk so funny but every one seems to love the accent so I don’t mind. :-) Lee let New Orleanians of all stripes speak for themselves and it was good that the politicians involved were able to explain themselves. And you know the Army Corp of Engineers were put down again and again…and rightfully so. Do you know that between Hurricane Betsy and Hurricane Katrina was 40 years? You would think that after the damage of Hurricane Betsy we would have learned our lesson but….
Oh! While he does explore the idea of the levees being breached by dynamite, he doesn’t delve into conspiracy theories. He’s just letting you know that some residents believe one thing, and other residents believe another. I hope you guys get a chance to watch this. I’ll admit that as the first anniversary approaches, I’ve been a bit depressed. I can’t believe that such a major injustice could happen on American soil and it seems that everyone has gone back to sleep. The media keeps scaring us with terrorism to convince us that al-Qeada is the biggest threat to America when the real threat lies within. And when you see the footage of the corpses….Lord knows I should not look out of respect for the dead but sometimes I think journalists show these things so that you can remember what you saw. No one should have to die like that and I can only hope they died as martyrs. Some parts of the film will hurt you. You’ll hear from a man who had to leave his dead mother so that he could evacuate. You’ll see infants and elderly people struggling to live. This happened in America folks, not the “3rd World.” For us, there is no excuse.
Currently, there was some flack in NOLA about celebrating the 1st year anniversary of Katrina. As my friend Jordan asks, how can we celebrate a tragedy that’s still happening? The insurance companies aren’t coming through like they’re supposed to and Bush keeps on with this terrorism thing. It’s like Pavlov’s dogs or something. Whenever the media asks a question about the economy, gas prices, unemployment or Iraq–terrorism, terrorism, terrorism, terrorism. I’m so sick of it.
Now this summer I attempted to complete my thesis paper without a format which was impossible so I postponed my defense. I’ll spend the next few months writing it again and maybe in November or December, I’ll go back to New Orleans for a visit.
