20130822: Documentary Review--SoLa Louisiana Water Stories

SoLa Louisiana Water Stories

1. American live action feature film, NR, 61 minutes, Documentary, 2010.
2. IMDB: no statistics.  Needs five reviews.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 'No reviews yet' and zero audience ratings.
4. Written by Jon Bowermaster and Chris Cavanagh, directed by Jon Bowermaster.
5. There were a number of major interviews.
6. Ivor Van Heerden was fired from Louisiana State University after putting the blame for New Orleans' problems caused by hurricane Katrina on the Army Corps of Engineers.
7. One researcher noted the (illegal) over-harvesting of cypress trees--10% of all the state's cypress harvested in 2000 to 2006.  Contrasted destructive harvesting in Brazil versus Louisiana.
8. Jeff Dauzat discussed oil spills on the Mississippi due to tanker crashes in the river.  Such occurrences spread quickly and can get into drinking water intakes.
9. Father Robert Ryan--Catholic priest; looks to the needs of local fishermen.  The money per pound that a fisher gets for crab, fish, shrimp and the like is down about 50% from a decade or so ago, but the cost of fuel and the like for harvesting the fish is way up.  Interviews with fishermen were pretty uniform: the yield is down from (40, 20, 10) years ago, but for many, it's all they know.
10. Wilma Subra is an investigator of the toxic 'dead zone' south of Louisiana.  She and her husband have been harassed over the content of her reports to Washington.  There are many (400+) dead zones around the world.  In Louisiana's case, the dead zone is from the nitrates and phosphates washed down from the Mississippi drainage system (just about all the Midwest), and dumped in the ocean waters outside the Mississippi Atchafalaya delta.  This fosters algae blooms, which lower oxygen content to the extent that fish numbers drop.
11. Mayrlee Orr investigates cancer risk from the petrochemical industry along the southern Mississippi.
12. Tracy Kuhns: representing interests of fishermen.  Chemical origins of diseases and birth defects.  She operates in both Texas and Louisiana.
13. Four stars of five.

Cinematography: 10/10 Excellent aerial footage; ground footage has adequate light, good focus, and framing.

Sound: 10/10 No problems, well done.

Acting: N/A

Screenplay:  7/10 Loved it, but it needed to be about 3 to 5 hours instead of one.  The breadth of coverage is fine, but I could use more depth.