Trouble the Water
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Metascore
83 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 26 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

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  • Summary: Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, this astonishingly powerful documentary is at once horrifying and exhilarating. Directed and produced by Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine producers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, 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 9th 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 verite 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. (Zeitgeist)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    The documentary shows outrageous behavior, none more so than when they and many others are directed to a nearby Navy base for refuge.
  2. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Jim Ridley
    80
    The resilience of the movie's subjects--survivors of street crime and drugs and HIV--irradiates Trouble the Water like sunshine.
  3. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    80
    You can't make this stuff up. You can, however, capture it on film for all time. Trouble the Water is ineradicably moving.
  4. Variety
    Reviewed by: Robert Koehler
    60
    Though tinged with the sheer gumption and personal resolve of amateur vidmaker and would-be rapper Kimberly Roberts, this is ultimately a minor doc contribution to the bulging library of Katrina-related films and TV reports.

See all 26 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. RogerH.
    10
    Brilliant, brilliant, compelling doc. True passion
  2. SusanS.
    10
    Powerful stuff, and a hard reminder of the state of our union.
  3. filmtrashreview
    7
    As motivational as it is, the story of one hurricane Katrina victim doesn't spread far enough to convey any real message. Its interesting but that is about it. The last half an hour is filled with her rap career in order to create a feature length film. I loved the footage from inside the house as the hurricane swept across and also the stories that were told. We just never care deep enough for the main character to ever become fully invested in her and her life.… Collapse

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