Mike B If you want a thorough understanding of what happened in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 then this is the documentary for you. It's over 4 hours in length and it is brings out the devastation of this calamitous storm. It also demonstrates the ineptitude of government at all levels – local, state and federal (well it was the George Bush years). What did FEMA do? At the company where I use to work they had a Disaster Recovery plan in place – it was tested every year. What type of disaster plan did the city of New Orleans have? What was their plan for when a class 5 hurricane hit? Was it to put people in a stadium or drop them on an elevated highway with no food or water? They told people to leave, but there was no mass public transportation in place to facilitate this. Had these leaders never heard the expression: "hope for the best, but prepare for the worst"?As many people in the documentary stated the devastation was simply "indescribable". The people affected simply became disenfranchised –some real estate companies were trying to buy their property at rock-bottom prices after Katrina. There is a lot of newsreel footage but the real impact is felt with the interviews of the residents who experienced Katrina. The first 2 acts of this documentary highlight Katrina's beginnings and the actual storm with people inhabiting the stadium. The last 2 acts are the residual affects - what becomes of New Orleans and its' people? It is more obvious at this stage that the Federal Government hardly cared and was forced to act probably just as much by news footage as by severe prompting from the city and state governments.This is powerful documentary that works on many levels: the simple overwhelming forces of nature, the live reaction of those affected, and how all levels of government were completely caught off guard by this.

rovivrus I cried, more than once. This is a very rare occurrence for me watching a film. Considering this was made by a "big-name" filmmaker, I was surprised to see the subtlety, honesty and roundedness. This was the kind of documentary that rarely makes it into cinemas here (and it was released here 'theatrically'). They usually end up (like most ofthe other great stuff being made) on BBC4 at midnight. It was comprehensive, beautifully structured and absolutely HUMAN. So many documentary filmmakers are trying to be Michael Moore; why don't a few try to be more like Spike Lee?

paul2001sw-1 In some respects, New Orleans, a city built eight feet below sea level in the hear of hurricane country, is a natural disaster waiting to happen. But you might think, given its location in the richest country in the world, that there would at least be top-class flood defences, a solid evacuation plan and a firm commitment to rebuild. But in America, the politics of class and race are never far away, and New Orleans is poor and black. Director Spike Lee has done a real service for his country by making this film which exposes the shocking story of hurricane Katrina, a superficially simple assembly of documentary footage and the sometimes contradictory but always diverting testament of literally dozens of people, some famous but most not, caught up in the disaster. It's hard to pick out the most terrible revelations: but starving victims were prevented at gunpoint from entering neighbouring counties, and the school system has all but collapsed in the aftermath of the disaster because of the decline in the city's tax base: these are things that just shouldn't happen in a supposedly rich and civilised country, and are accidents (if that word is not too kindly) of man, not of nature. The truth is stark and powerful: Katrina did more damage than those planes on 9/11, but its attack was not aimed (especially) at the rich and powerful; the different responses serve a dreadful indictment of the state of the American dream.

bob the moo I apologise for stealing another person's point but I will make reference to the review written by Ric-7 and the first point he makes. A requiem is like a lament, a time to reflect and grieve over a loss or event. An autopsy or an enquiry is not a lament but is a clear look at the loss or event to identify the reasons for it. By putting requiem in the title of his film, Lee is making it clear for everyone that the intension is to grieve over that happened rather than deliver a precise factual opinion on what happened. So criticisms that this isn't precise and a tighter affair are unfair.However having said that the film does a great job of providing balance – surprisingly so from Spike Lee, who I expected to play the race card, play everything up and point fingers in a one-sided diatribe. It could not have been further from the truth though because the film is actually pretty balanced. Of course there is an inevitable slant towards how terrible this whole shooting match was and is but then that is more to do with the fact that the whole event was terrible in all sorts of ways rather than the makers over-egging the cake. Set out in four acts the film deals with the build up and hitting of Katrina in act 1; the aftermath and response of the authorities in act 2; the human fall out as the evacuees try to cope in act 3 and finally the attempts to clear the city and look back in act 4.Watching it is a difficult experience. This is not because of the running time though, because it is so consistently engaging that I found my intentions to watch it in four parts turned into one sitting that seemed a lot shorter than it was. No, it is a difficult experience because of the emotions that hit you throughout. The loss of those caught up is well painted and several contributions had me crying although the film doesn't let us accept all of the victims as blameless and does feature people stating that they chose to stay. Of course the majority were expected to pick up their poverty and head across America to wherever and this makes up the secondary emotional hit. The film does show the things we know about – Bush's administration apparent lack of interest, the mess with FEMA and so on but it doesn't dwell on it that much and it doesn't get into finger pointing much beyond this – again we know this already and I doubt anyone looks at Bush's role in the aftermath and views him with anything other than embarrassment. For this reason it is also nice to be reminded of Barbara Bush's comment that many of the victims were better off living in a sports arena in Texas – I would laugh if I hadn't been sickened.However the film follows this with two acts on the wider aftermath and the pain continues. The second half of the series does get a bit slower and "matter of fact" but still remains gripping. It looks at families thrown all over the US; the lack of victim support and the emotional suffering that continued long after the event. The contributors make the film and they are almost always used well. Most people talk from the heart and are engaging as a result. There are plenty of people who make attacks and sweeping statements. The film doesn't just let these stand though and does include retractions and corrections on rumours such as those of children being raped etc. There aren't any contributions that I can think of that don't add much and nobody hogs the screen – the film uses them well.Visually the film looks good in the footage shot by Lee. As much of the first acts is archive footage you don't get that much of an impression of his style but even his framing of his interviews shows his style. His use of music is good and it was a good call to use the title credit music from 25th Hour to open the 3rd act as it makes a good link between the two events. Overall then a fascinating and emotionally impacting review of the Katrina affair. It is surprisingly balanced and held me easily for four hours and stands as a lament for the human suffering and the political forces that simply don't seem willing or able to work it out.