What Happens After a Natural Disaster of Massive Proportions

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MOVIE REVIEW
Katrina Babies
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Genre: Documentary
Year Released: 2022
Runtime: 1h 19m
Director(s): Edward Buckles Jr.
Writer(s): Edward Buckles Jr., Luther Clement Lam, Audrey Rosenberg
Where To Watch: on HBO beginning August 24th

Sometimes a film strictly can only be rated on the experience of watching it vs. anything objective. This is one of those cases; I remember all too well the horrific tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. I didn’t know just how much it impacted those who lost their homes; they lost everything they had, their identities, and more.

This story is about perseverance and the fight to reclaim what was once New Orleans for those who lived there. Sadly so many neighborhoods are gone forever, and those that can come back are being separated and are only a shadow of their former selves.

First-time director Edward Buckles Jr. knows how to tell a story through interviews, a unique way of documentary filmmaking that not everything can pull off! I think the true definition of a documentary being a success or not is if it can convey a story without being directly told what the story is. This one manages that and then some without issue.

If you ever wondered more about the personal stories of those who experienced Katrina and the fallout that followed, I can’t think of a better journey. There have been some documentaries about the storm itself, but I’ve never seen anything that dives this deep into the tragedy. Honestly, HBO has a stellar track record of incredible documentaries. Even this year, I thought THE JANES was a nearly perfect look into something I knew very little about. Unfortunately, its timing couldn’t have been better with everything going on in the US.

I remembered just a few years ago; that a direct-to-streaming documentary wouldn’t be something the Academy would consider for Oscar consideration. I now would be shocked if this one isn’t at least in the running. Although to be fair, the Academy usually doesn’t agree with me. I thought last year's documentary PRESIDENT should’ve won; however, it wasn’t even nominated!

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