WORTH SEEING? So far I have watched one-and-a-half of the recently released documentaries about the national tragedies of September 11 and Katrina. On Native Soil is the film version -- presuming a documentary can actually substitute for the National Book Award-nominated Report -- of the findings of the 9-11 Commission. I�m also halfway through Spike Lee�s four-hour film, When the Levees Broke, about the Katrina disaster. Although the directors of ONS have an advantage in terms of the volume and visual impact of available footage -- is there any more compelling, if horrifying, footage than the sight of that second plane hitting the South Tower? -- Lee paces his film so slowly that I repeatedly found myself wanting to hit my DVR�s fast forward button. Though I�ll reserve final judgment on Levees until I plow through the last two parts of his four-part requiem, the choice of �plow� is the giveaway. Some of Lee�s interviews are great, especially those he extracted from New Orleans regulars who found themselves in extraordinary situations. The short clip from Sean Penn was also humbling. But some of the comments from survivors could have been edited down, and the self-absorbed mini-dissertations from the breathy Michael Eric Dyson are an infuriating distraction. Most problematic is that the film leaves out some of the basic details of what happened when and where -- there is a single, brief map animation of New Orleans, showing which levees broke and where the water flooded. As a fan of Lee�s dramatic films, thus far I�m disappointed with his noble effort to chronicle the New Orleans tragedy. On Native Soil, however, is as riveting as the Commission report on which it is based. Maybe I�m just a left-brainer of the worst sort, but the way it methodically presents the timeline of events, interspersing video with narratives and interviews, kept my attention throughout. It takes skill to tell a story when the outcome is so well known to all in advance, but Linda Ellman manages to pull it off. One element in Native Soil which goes beyond the Report is the film�s non-maudlin tribute to the relentless courage of the victims� families, who would not let the administration and Congress punt on holding hearings to investigate the government�s failures. I may have to watch it again to recharge my batteries before plowing through the second half of Lee�s �requiem.�
--Tom Schaller
