Katrina: L'ouragan infernal

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.

I think this series is worth watching but as a whole it comes off very disjointed. The first two episodes feel like they came from a different series altogether from the third.

The first two episodes are telling the historical story of hurricane Katrina and the failures afterwards. The points made by the third episode revolve around the systemic cultural failures that occurred during the rebuilding process are very valid. But it comes off as almost a PowerPoint presentation in parts. The editing style and approach are very different from the other two episodes. It comes across as a series a jumbled narrative of interviews that kind of tell a story, but one that could have been handled better stylistically. Also felt like the dead of Katrina get left behind in the series. The identification and stories of them get ignored for the most part.

Episodes 1 and 2 were done really well. They provided a lot of pre-hurricane footage and videos that residents took of their neighborhoods and their plans to evacuate or stay. It seems that in many cases they stayed because they either had no transportation or resources to evacuate. It seems that the city was not completely prepared for worst case scenarios like the levees breaking. That is really what caused most of the devastation. Episode 3's tone felt different when it started. That is because Spike Lee stepped in to produce it and interview various people that were involved in the hurricane. Race baiting, climate change, politics, and even COVID (?) dominated the episode. While I understand that a large amount of the population that had to evacuate was black, this should really be an issue of how the government and public officials respond to natural disasters. It should not be a black or white issue. No American would've wanted to see these people suffering or dying. Anyways, I recommend watching the series. Unfortunately, I had a knock off several stars due to the last episode but for sure episodes 1 and 2 are worth watching.

1 & 2 are very effective documentaries - presenting facts and telling stories of real people and their struggles during a natural tragedy. Spike Lee completely destroys this by turning to opinion, discussion and theory.

Why would he not look at the work of the other creators and produce something that is coherent with the rest of the series??

He is clearly a narcissist - I say this as the other documentaries leave it to the people who suffered this tragedy to recount their journeys of survival. This final documentary ha Spike regularly interjecting, trying to show that he is 'part of it' or some such. The guy is insufferable and I hope that he is never allowed near important and factual film making ever again.

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

The first two episodes are excellent, but the third feels like a letdown-shifting focus to hype a climate agenda and overshadowing the other important points that key voices are trying to make.

And Brad Pitt... fix the shoddy homes you built for people.