A look at Spike Lee's Katrina documentary
Renarda Williams, one of our regular reviewers in the print edition, caught last night's first two hours of Spike Lee's "When the Levee Broke" A Requiem in Four Acts."
Spike Lee tells the story about horrible events that occurred during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in a thought-provoking documentary titled When The Levee Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, which is running on HBO Aug. 21-22 (Part 1 and 2), at 8 p.m. The documentary will be shown in its entirely on Aug. 29, at 7 p.m.
Lee allows those who faced the events of Katrina to speak out and tell their story. And
the sobering stories of the victims of Katrina will touch the hearts of viewers watching the documentary.
The first two acts took viewers through the storm, especially the frightening events in the Superdome. Acts three and four tonight will focus on how New Orleanians picked up the pieces after the storm and face an enormous future.
As an Alexandria, La., native, I found Lee's documentary bringing back harsh memories of Aug. 29, 2005. On that day, as I watched the storm coverage on CNN, I felt like I was in New Orleans. Having attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette, La., (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) from 1979-84, which is roughly an hour and 40 minutes away from New Orleans, it was tough for me to watch the southern part of my home state hit by Katrina.
I could not concentrate on my work because I was glued to the television; calling my mother and old college friends in Lafayette; and wondering if my college friends [from New Orleans] were all right because I did not have their current telephone numbers.
Lee takes you back again, and based on what I saw last night, this four-hour project is well worth your time. -- Renarda Williams
