An American Opera

Name: An American Opera
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2007-01-22
Duration: 1 h 29 min
Rating: 8.2
Cast: Tom McPhee, Jane Garrison, Lamonte Chenevert

20072007
Not RatedNot Rated
1h 29m

IMDb RATING

8.2/10

YOUR RATING

Documentary

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, America suffered the worst domestic animal crisis in its history. Tens of thousands of house pets were left to perish in neighborhoods all across the g... Read allIn the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, America suffered the worst domestic animal crisis in its history. Tens of thousands of house pets were left to perish in neighborhoods all across the gulf when the owners were forced to evacuate without their pets. Tom McPhee went to Gonzale... Read allIn the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, America suffered the worst domestic animal crisis in its history. Tens of thousands of house pets were left to perish in neighborhoods all across the gulf when the owners were forced to evacuate without their pets. Tom McPhee went to Gonzales, Louisiana not knowing how he would help, just knowing he needed to help somehow. He vol... Read all

IMDb RATING

8.2/10

YOUR RATING

Director
- Tom McPhee
Stars

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Awards
- 3 wins

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, America suffered the worst domestic animal crisis in its history. Tens of thousands of house pets were left to perish in neighborhoods all across the gulf when the owners were forced to evacuate without their pets. Tom McPhee went to Gonzales, Louisiana not knowing how he would help, just knowing he needed to help somehow. He volunteered at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center and by chance found himself spending the next four days taking picture after picture of thousands of house pets rescued from flooded New Orleans. For the next 16 months Tom would document this historic event as it unfolded, trying to understand where it all went wrong. An American Opera is an unflinching, operatic vision of what happened to the people of New Orleans who were forced to evacuate without their beloved pets. Follow the story of the Pets, Vets, Owners, Officials, Rescuers and Adopters of animals as they all work through the chaos to do what is right only to discover not everyone is working toward the same goal! —Tom McPhee

animal

hurricane katrina

opera

hurricane

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Taglines
- When EVERYONE believes they are doing RIGHT, how can so much go WRONG?
Genre
- Documentary
Certificate
- Not Rated
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Soundtracks
Should Be
By Arthur Yoria

User reviews6

Review

Top review

10/10

It was truth, plain and simple...

Oh my goodness, I loved this movie. It was real. It was truth. And yes, it was operatic. This is not a typical documentary. It never preached to you, it simply showed you what happened after Katrina and leaves you to decide how to feel. Some people have a problem with movies like that because when people see a documentary, they expect to be schooled in something or preached to. This film doesn't do that.

But it does show the whole spectrum of humanity. You have people doing really awful and really amazing things. As someone in animal rescue, this film hits the nail on the head. You see so many horrible and wonderful things and it is both that keep you going.

Most documentaries that I see look like a 60 Minutes news special or A&E Biography: you see lots of shots of people walking up and away from things while a voice over tells you "the facts." An American Opera is more than facts; it's emotion playing out on screen. Most documentaries hit you in the heart; this film hits you in the gut. An American Opera is not for wimps.

You will cry, laugh, get angry, cheer for the heroes, and most of all, you will leave the theater wanting to do something. This film activates you. You leave the film with a sense of personal pride, a self-call to action: one person cannot change the world by helping one animal, but they can change the world of that animal.

A quick note on the soundtrack: the music in this film is in the vein of Garden State – very earthy, organic, and down-to-earth. My iTunes has grown a lot because of the undiscovered, amazing talent this film brings to the big screen.

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