Music after Katrina
Hurricane on the Bayou
Review by Ross Anthony

This review is based on a rough-cut screening in April 2006.

Wow! Even unfinished, this is a powerful piece of cinematography, nature, story telling, and history. I was pretty much blown away with the big huge shots of the devastation and large scale reconstruction efforts.

This is a situation that needed the big screen to be comprehended. We all saw it on our little TV sets. We saw images of flooding and tragedy over and over, day after day. But our little TV's just couldn't communicate the scale -- even if we watched it 24 hours a day for a month. If you want a more actual size understanding of Katrina's devastation on the people of the New Orleans area and beyond -- see this film.

For this very reason, however, you may worry that the large format filmmakers are simply being opportunistic. That is not the case at all. They started filming in New Orleans prior to Katrina.

The film follows four local musicians -- their heart connection with the area, the wetlands, and how Katrina toppled their lives. The film feels very genuine, personal, and bold. It's colossal in its imagery, and quite warm in its coverage.

The rough-cut is like an early rough draft. It still had elements that were missing -- sometimes the screen went black where soon-to-be acquired film should be. This is normal for a rough-cut. Oddly, I felt these "black outs" worked quite well to communicate the feeling of overwhelming destruction.

I recommend it highly and have only one suggestion. Since the Mississippi soot situation seems to be quite a problem -- I would like to have it better explained.

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  • Hurricane on the Bayou. Copyright © 2006.
  • Directed by Greg MacGillivray.
  • Screenplay by Greg MacGillivray.
  • Produced by Greg MacGillivray at MacGillivray/Freeman.

Grade..........................A (3.5/4)


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Copyright © 1998-2023 Ross Anthony, Author - Speaker - Solo World Circumnavigator In addition to reviewing films and interviewing celebs at HollywoodReportCard.com, traveling the world, composing great music, motivational speaking, Mr. Anthony also runs his own publishing company in the Los Angeles area. While traversing the circumference of the planet writing books and shooting documentaries, Mr. Anthony has taught, presented for, worked &/or played with locals in over 30 countries & 100 cities (Nairobi to Nagasaki). He's bungee-jumped from a bridge near Victoria Falls, wrestled with lions in Zimbabwe, crashed a Vespa off a high mountain road in Taiwan, and ridden a dirt bike across the States (Washington State to Washington DC). To get signed books ("Rodney Appleseed" to "Jinshirou") or schedule Ross to speak check out: www.RossAnthony.com or call 1-800-767-7186. Go into the world and inspire the people you meet with your love, kindness, and whatever it is you're really good at. Check out books by Ross Anthony. Rand() functions, Pho chicken soup, rollerblading, and frozen yogurt (w/ blueberries) also rock! (Btw, rand is short for random. It can also stand for "Really Awkward Nutty Dinosaurs" -- which is quite rand, isn't it?) Being alive is the miracle. Special thanks to Ken Kocanda, HAL, Jodie Keszek, Don Haderlein, Mom and Pops, my family, R. Foss, and many others by Ross Anthony. Galati-FE also deserves a shout out. And thanks to all of you for your interest and optimism. Enjoy great films, read stirring novels, grow.


Last Modified: Saturday, 16-Sep-2006 08:09:14 PDT