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Trouble the Water (2008) Certificate 15

Trouble the Water
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Rated 3.0 stars
Average rating
(60%)
 
Starring: Kimberly Roberts | Scott Roberts
Director: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin
Studio: ICA FILMS
Run time: 96 mins
Genres: Documentary
Languages: English
Released: April 27, 2009

"Trouble the Water" takes you inside Hurricane Katrina in a way never before seen on screen. The film opens the day before the storm makes landfall--just blocks away from the French Quarter but far from the New Orleans that most tourists knew. Kimberly Rivers Roberts, an aspiring rap artist, is turning her new video camera on herself and her Ninth Ward neighbors trapped in the city. "It's going to be a day to remember," Kim declares. As the hurricane begins to rage and the floodwaters fill their world and the screen, Kim and her husband Scott continue to film their harrowing retreat to higher ground and the dramatic rescues of friends and neighbors. The filmmakers document the couple's return to New Orleans, the devastation of their neighborhood and the appalling repeated failures of government. Weaving an insider's view of Katrina with a mix of verité and in-your-face filmmaking, "Trouble the Water" is a redemptive tale of self-described street hustlers who become heroes--two unforgettable people who survive the storm and then seize a chance for a new beginning.

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Rating of 4 stars out of 5
Time Out

Winner of this years Grand Jury prize at Sundance, this debut by Fahrenheit 9/11 producers Carl Deal and Tia...

Highest rated reviews

6 out of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 4 stars
Trouble The Water

Tallos from , 6th May, 2009

Excellent. Really amazing to see first person point of view when the hurricane hits and they are stuck up in the attic. Disturbing, upsetting, yet uplifting as well. Great soundtrack too.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 0 stars
Bad Bad Bad

Sarahrpond from , 22nd August, 2009

This has got to be the worst film i have ever watched and i only managed 10 mins before i had to turn it off!!!

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2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 3 stars
2 stars

A Customer from Wotton-under-Edge, 9th September, 2009

not very good did not enjoy the film

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2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 1 stars
trouble the water

A Customer from Pontypridd, 29th July, 2009

all the jigging around with the camera made me feel sick

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Most recent reviews

Rated 4 stars
Induces both rage and respect in equal measure

Robbiedjude from , 12th September, 2009

For me it is rare to go through more than one emotion a film. I like to blame this on the simplistic and childish tosh hollywood produces nowadays but think I'm just watching the wrong sort of movies. Trouble the Water is extraordinary and I have never used that word in a review before. One second you seeth with rage at the ineptitude of the federal government that lets hundreds of thousands of its own citizens suffer while doing nothing, the next your panicing for the filmmakers safety(even though you now they must survive) and lastly you're laughing and marvelling at the sheer resiliance and strength of those involved as they fight to survive, lose everything and keep fighting. I've used the word once. I'm going to use it again. An extraordinary documentary.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 1 stars
Documentary

salmanfan from from London, 27th August, 2009

Very amateurish. It got its point over but it was too long and and not to the point

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1 out of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 5 stars
Beyond Belief & Presented Raw

Rafellin from , 25th August, 2009

If you suffer motion sickness from juddering hand-held camcorder work, then brace yourself for the first ten minutes or so, and be assured it gets better. But you must endure to see a slice of life like you may never see again. Presented in stark contrasts and personal record, hurricane Katrina and it's aftermath for the poorest side of the New Orleans community. I do not recall a documentary film where it's main players show themselves with such honesty when it would not paint them as stereotypical 'good' people. A film about survival. A film that shows and tells about systemic hypocrisy and media usage. Above all, a film about family strength. Watch this.

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