In 2006, director Spike Lee created an astonishing record of the cataclysmic effects of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans with his epic award-winning documentary, When the Levees Broke. Five years later, Lee returns to New Orleans, to see how the ambitious plans to reinvent the Crescent City were playing out. He finds a patchwork of hope and heartache just as a new disaster unfolds. The four-hour documentary is a continuation of the heart-rending story of destruction and rebirth of America's most unique city. Written by HBO Publicity
When the Levees Broke is going to be viewed as one of the great documentaries so I was eager to watch this one. Unlike many people I have enjoyed Spike Lee's films over the years. I don't always agree with him but he is one of the few American directors today doing anything though provoking.
His segments on BP were really the strongest and most compelling. He probably could have done a two or three part film: one documenting police corruption in NOLA which was legendary prior to Katrina and one about the BP disaster which taught us that when a mega corp screws up we really are impotent. I think he over stretched on Haiti. That could have also been another documentary. Spike Lee is a man with a point of view but he lets his subjects speak for themselves and weirdly enough I found Micheal Brown less the villain than I would have thought. Of course he was self justifying. Wouldn't we all in his position.
Worth watching. Kudos to HBO for even slapping documentaries on during prime time.