Director Spike Lee has made a long (four hours and fifteen minutes in length) documentary about the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina. It's called When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts and it is, by an amazing coincidence, in four acts. Acts One and Two debuted last night on HBO. Acts Three and Four debut tonight. I TiVoed last night's offering and while I've only had the chance to watch about fifteen minutes of it, it seems like "must" viewing for those of us who want to understand what happened and — more important — what can be learned from the tragedy that might prevent it from being quite so bad the next time. There will be a next time.
If you missed Acts One and Two last night, you might want to hold off on Three and Four just for sequential reasons. A week from tonight, HBO will run all four parts in a row and thereafter, Mr. Lee's effort will be broadcast repeatedly — sometimes, two acts at a time; sometimes, all four. I'm sure it will be depressing and frustrating but I intend to try to clear time to watch it from start to finish. If you're skeptical, wait 'til I make it through and I'll report back on whether I think it's worth your time. Personally, I think Lee should have put the major focus on FEMA and called his project, Do the Wrong Thing.