Katrina: Contra viento y marea

Episodes 1 & 2 paint a vivid picture of the hurricane's prelude, impact and immediate catastrophic aftermath, largely through survivors' own eyes via camcorder footage.

Episode 3 feels like Spike Lee watched those episodes and decided he had to do it all himself. Thus, interviewees are reintroduced and events recapped like the previous two hours never happened.

Like, weren't they blunt enough for him? For me, they did an exemplary job of showing systemic racism permeated every aspect of this disaster without needing to put the words 'systemic racism' onscreen, as if anyone watching might've missed that point somewhere along the way.

While good and informative for E1 & 2, E3 dragged. I learned more from watching the National Geographic doc, "Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time." Some crossover with interviews of same people. Still, being a fan of NOLA and visited many times, I learned a lot. I found it especially interesting about the "recovery" of the area. And Commander Honore' is my new favorite person. He was a bad@$$.

If you're around my age, you'll remember watching the news back in 2025 and being shocked by what happened to New Orleans, an iconic place submerged in water.

This documentary explores the buildup to Hurricane Katrina, the devastating effect it had, and its legacy. Episodes one and two are incredibly good; they will shock you, appall you, and make you consider why the country turned its back on New Orleans. You'll wonder if things would have been different had it been another state.

Episode three has some fascinating content, but it's a bit of a mess and too long; it's a frantic conclusion poorly thrown together. You'll come away with the certain knowledge that there are some incredible and resilient people in New Orleans, but they are a people who were failed by their government.

Some of what I saw in the second episode made my blood boil; it felt as though I was listening to something from a hundred years ago.

I urge you to watch it; episodes one and two are essential viewing.

8/10.

This is a mostly well made and paced documentary detailing the devastating and moving stories of what happened during Hurricane Katrina.

However after a solid first two episodes the third episode is muddled narratively (especially the first 20 mins ish) and the random addition of the PowerPoint style text on the screen which adds nothing and if anything cheapens the points they're trying to make.

"Katrina: Come Hell and High Water" provides a deafening look at the catastrophe that overtook New Orleans in 2005. The first two episodes provide a laser-sharp analysis of the disaster - before, during and after. I re-learned a lot I had forgotten about, especially how some people had no recourse to leave. The results obviously were devastating. I was amazed by the resiliency of the people of New Orleans, a city I love. The third episode gets muddled in some racial and who can we blame sidebars that have little to do with the hurricane. That said, it is an important documentary about the forces of nature and the fabric of society which when weakened easily tears.