Hurricane on the Bayou (2006)
*** (out of 4)
This IMAX documentary started out to cover the Louisiana swamps and why the wetland was pretty much disappearing but during production Hurricane Katrina hit so this adds more to the story. Meryl Streep narrates the story as we're introduced to a few people who live in the swamps and how they've been saying for years that the swamplands needed more attention. When Katrina struck they felt that had there been more wetlands then the hurricane might have died down a bit more and the massive destruction wouldn't have happened. It should be noted that I viewed this movie at home so the review should be read with that in mind since of course your home television, no matter how great, isn't going to be the same thing as the IMAX. For the most part I enjoyed this 44-minute film but at the same time I can't help but think it should have been much better. I think the problem is that the producers were limited on the running time so the movie feels incredibly uneven in regards to what story it wants to tell. It starts off about the Mississippi Delta but then switches focus to the destruction of Katrina. The film jumps back and forth and I can't help but think the two stories should have been made into their own movie. We're introduced to a young musician and we see her life briefly before and after Katrina but in the end it just doesn't hit home as it should. In regards to the images they're certainly what makes this film worth viewing. The stuff early on gives us a terrific look at the swamps and brings us extremely close to some alligators in the water. The second portion of the film gives us a rather incredible look at the destruction and the first images we see is a highway with not cars on it but instead boats that the storm left there.
