When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts by Spike Lee
DVD Collection - Main Level - W
More than an account of Katrina, When the Levees Broke follows the New Orleans survivors through their harrowing journeys before and after the storm. In four one-hour segments, the viewer travels with the survivors through the storm, the lull after the storm, the levee failure, the floods, and the clean-up. Spike Lee interviewed survivors at several points, so we experience their initial shock as they view the devastation, their grief at what was lost, and finally, the process of gathering strength and their resolution to rebuild. More than 100 people tell their stories - working people, musicians, actors, journalists, government officials, ministers, academics, and engineers. Some stayed and some evacuated, some lost loved ones and others escaped with their families. In addition to the unforgettable stories of the survivors, the filmmakers also interviewed experts and government officials searching for answers. Why weren’t the levees strong enough? Why was the rescue operation so slow to get started? Why is rebuilding taking so long? The definitive explanations remain elusive, but Spike Lee discovers many facts that will challenge the viewers’ ideas of what happened and why.