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Trouble the Water

Play trailer Poster for Trouble the Water Released Aug 22, 2008 1h 33m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
96% Tomatometer 75 Reviews 87% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
As Hurricane Katrina raged around them, Scott and Kimberly Rivers Roberts took shelter with some neighbors in their attic in New Orleans' Ninth Ward. Kimberly, an aspiring rapper, brought her video camera and filmed herself, her husband and their friends before and during the devastating storm. This footage is at the heart of Tia Lessin and Carl Deal's documentary about the Hurricane Katrina tragedy, along with the filmmakers' own footage of Kimberly and Scott rebuilding their lives afterwards.

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Trouble the Water

Trouble the Water

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Critics Consensus

This incredible documentary displays the tragedy and mismanagement of Katrina along with the heroism of strangers and survivors.

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Critics Reviews

View All (75) Critics Reviews
Wesley Morris Boston Globe Rated: 2/4 Nov 24, 2011 Full Review Hank Sartin Time Out Rated: 5/5 Nov 18, 2011 Full Review Peter Howell Toronto Star 'God's gonna trouble the water,' goes the chorus from the African-American spiritual that gives Trouble the Water its title, but no deity is to blame for the tide of bureaucratic bungling and inhumanity the movie reveals. Rated: 3.5/4 Feb 13, 2009 Full Review Mattie Lucas From the Front Row Invites us to step into the shoes of people who the government forgot, and demands that we refuse to do the same. Rated: 3/4 Jul 7, 2019 Full Review Nicholas Lemann The New York Review of Books The best of the Katrina documentaries thus far, to my mind, is Trouble the Water. Nov 5, 2018 Full Review Kelly Vance East Bay Express A documentary that changed direction, like a weather front, in the midst of being made. Aug 15, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (212) audience reviews
Audience Member A documentary that immerses you right into Hurricane Katrina, up close and personal, during and afterwards that shows the encouraged strength for others as well the further, juxtaposed exposure of the racially-motivated, flawed, mostly uncaring government towards the harsh truth from within. (B+) (Full review TBD) Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member It's gripping from beginning to end. Wonderfully told. It perfectly captures the unbiased reality of the storm Katrina brought to NOLA's citizens. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Very annoying lady that the movie focuses on. The points about the poor being hurt were very well-made. But the focus was all put on that annoying lady. Ugh Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member Living in the Philippines during the first eleven years of my life, I have witnessed what typhoons can do up close. The sight of streets where the water level-brown, full of debris, and controlled by a powerful currents-can go past six feet is scary for any child who has even only a slight comprehension of what is happening. I remember one typhoon in particular when it has gotten so bad that my mom welcomed our neighbors to stay in our house since it had an a bit of elevation. The water level seemed to go up every ten minutes. It threatened to drink us whole. There was no water in the faucet and no electricity in the outlets, only silent fears. We had food but supply was limited. Still, what is impossible to forget is that fear that we could possibly die. I observed the water level along the marble steps creeping up every thirty minutes or so and thinking there was no rescue. We were on our own. One of the saddest and most maddening realities shown in "Trouble the Water," directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, is the sight of New Orleans underwater right after Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the levee, compounded with 911 calls of people in their attics begging to be rescued while the operators could neither say nor do anything to help. A caller asked, "So we're going to die?" There was only silence on the other line. They knew there was no rescue team deployed by the proper authorities. Clearly, this was a point in American history where this country was an embarrassment. The documentary takes a personal approach. We follow aspiring rapper Kimberly Rivers Roberts and Scott Roberts, her husband, before, during, and after the devastation. Before the storm, we are given a small tour of the neighborhood through Kimberly's camera: the abandoned streets, the people who had no choice but to remain because they had neither means nor modes of transport, the ominous sky. In the middle of the storm, I was reminded of my childhood fears during a typhoon: the roaring winds, the increasing water levels outside, the blackout, the leaky roof. Weeks after the hurricane, we are shown places that Kimberly and Scott visited only days after the storm. Their anger is not shown in a confronting way. Instead, it is hidden inside disappointment and sadness from what had already occurred. We watch them get treated with disrespect by those in charge. Again, not in a confronting way. It is in the look that some military personnel gave them and sometimes how their questions-like why the rescue teams were not there when they were needed most-were answered. These were justified questions because they came from people who lost everything: possessions, trust in their government, loved ones. But these only scratch the surface. Some tragedies can only be experienced to be believed. I was especially horrified by the reality of empty houses with dead bodies. The houses were supposed to have been inspected and the corpses properly dealt with, but the bodies were left to be discovered by civilians. You will not believe where and how people who were supposed to be taking care of the survivors spent their time. "Trouble the Water" is special because it is given a specific human stamp despite the national disaster. Kimberly's well of optimism moved me. She has talent, too. At one point, she gives us a performance, a song that details her very troubled past, what helped her get to where she is, and her inspiration to move forward. In a way, she is New Orleans: despite its flaws therein lies an indomitable spirit. Film-Review.org Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Living in the Philippines during the first eleven years of my life, I have witnessed what typhoons can do up close. The sight of streets where the water level-brown, full of debris, and controlled by a powerful currents-can go past six feet is scary for any child who has even only a slight comprehension of what is happening. I remember one typhoon in particular when it has gotten so bad that my mom welcomed our neighbors to stay in our house since it had an a bit of elevation. The water level seemed to go up every ten minutes. It threatened to drink us whole. There was no water in the faucet and no electricity in the outlets, only silent fears. We had food but supply was limited. Still, what is impossible to forget is that fear that we could possibly die. I observed the water level along the marble steps creeping up every thirty minutes or so and thinking there was no rescue. We were on our own. One of the saddest and most maddening realities shown in "Trouble the Water," directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, is the sight of New Orleans underwater right after Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the levee, compounded with 911 calls of people in their attics begging to be rescued while the operators could neither say nor do anything to help. A caller asked, "So we're going to die?" There was only silence on the other line. They knew there was no rescue team deployed by the proper authorities. Clearly, this was a point in American history where this country was an embarrassment. The documentary takes a personal approach. We follow aspiring rapper Kimberly Rivers Roberts and Scott Roberts, her husband, before, during, and after the devastation. Before the storm, we are given a small tour of the neighborhood through Kimberly's camera: the abandoned streets, the people who had no choice but to remain because they had neither means nor modes of transport, the ominous sky. In the middle of the storm, I was reminded of my childhood fears during a typhoon: the roaring winds, the increasing water levels outside, the blackout, the leaky roof. Weeks after the hurricane, we are shown places that Kimberly and Scott visited only days after the storm. Their anger is not shown in a confronting way. Instead, it is hidden inside disappointment and sadness from what had already occurred. We watch them get treated with disrespect by those in charge. Again, not in a confronting way. It is in the look that some military personnel gave them and sometimes how their questions-like why the rescue teams were not there when they were needed most-were answered. These were justified questions because they came from people who lost everything: possessions, trust in their government, loved ones. But these only scratch the surface. Some tragedies can only be experienced to be believed. I was especially horrified by the reality of empty houses with dead bodies. The houses were supposed to have been inspected and the corpses properly dealt with, but the bodies were left to be discovered by civilians. You will not believe where and how people who were supposed to be taking care of the survivors spent their time. "Trouble the Water" is special because it is given a specific human stamp despite the national disaster. Kimberly's well of optimism moved me. She has talent, too. At one point, she gives us a performance, a song that details her very troubled past, what helped her get to where she is, and her inspiration to move forward. In a way, she is New Orleans: despite its flaws therein lies an indomitable spirit. Film-Review.org Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Una lección de fuerza, coraje y solidaridad. Una muestra de la hipocresía política y de la discriminación. Un retrato de nuestros tiempos. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Trouble the Water

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis As Hurricane Katrina raged around them, Scott and Kimberly Rivers Roberts took shelter with some neighbors in their attic in New Orleans' Ninth Ward. Kimberly, an aspiring rapper, brought her video camera and filmed herself, her husband and their friends before and during the devastating storm. This footage is at the heart of Tia Lessin and Carl Deal's documentary about the Hurricane Katrina tragedy, along with the filmmakers' own footage of Kimberly and Scott rebuilding their lives afterwards.
Director
Carl Deal
Producer
Carl Deal
Distributor
Zeitgeist Films
Production Co
Elsewhere Films
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 22, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 3, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$520.0K
Runtime
1h 33m
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