Katrina: Come Hell and High Water

Each of its three episodes is directed by a different filmmaker. Each is emotional and precisely rendered. But the third is what really sets this series apart. .... Lee refuses to offer a trite statement about the resilience of the community, though there is resilience present. Instead, he seems more interested in what remains lost since the flood.

Katrina: Come Hell And High Water brings the storm and its aftermath down to a personal level in a way that makes the horrors of what happened fresh all over again.

The first two episodes of “Hell and High Water” are of a piece, methodically detailing what happened and how most of the post-storm tragedy could have easily been prevented. But episode 3 is a Spike Lee Joint, which means it charts its own path through the Katrina wreckage.

Come Hell and High Water is a stirring tribute to what has been lost and what has been stolen, but it assures us that New Orleans will never be gone, even if it will never be the same.