Trouble the Water

This distinctive documentary follows Hurricane Katrina survivors Scott Roberts and Kimberly Rivers Roberts, residents of New Orleans' Ninth Ward.

Mixing camcorder and hand-held footage with news clips, the film lays bare the unthinkable human toll the 2005 storm took on those too poor or otherwise unable to evacuate the city.

Trouble the Water (the title is taken from the spiritual "Wade in the Water") begins with Kimberly filming her neighborhood in the days leading up to Katrina. It begins to resemble a sci-fi film as the streets empty and the wind begins to howl.

The film follows the couple through the storm, huddling in an attic without electricity, and in the months afterward as they become FEMA refugees.

The most affecting scene shows thousands of people sitting despondently outside the convention center in the wake of the storm, as the Big Easy is transformed into a city of the hollow-eyed homeless.

Ten months later, the filmmakers take a drive-by tour of the Ninth Ward, which still looks like a devastated ghost town.

The Robertses' very personal experience stands in stark contrast to the government's seeming indifference. It's a remarkable reminder of the strength and resolve of ordinary people.

Trouble the Water is choppy, overly long and at times almost indecipherable, but it's indelible.

- David Hiltbrand