SoLa

Given the recent flooding of the Mississippi basin, including southern Louisiana, this timely documentary concerns the importance of the Louisiana watershed to both the state and the country. The area is home to abundant rivers, bayous, swamps, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to the rich Cajun culture, it fosters a $63 billion oil and gas industry, one of the country's richest and most bountiful fisheries, over 200 petrochemical plants, and the world's largest Dead Zone in the gulf, along with major tourism. Filmmaker Bowermaster's intent was to make a film about the complicated relationships between man and water. Interviews with residents and experts chronicle how dredging, poorly thought-out canal building, illegal clear-cutting of cypress forests, and levee failures, as well as the devastation from Hurricane Katrina, have all contributed to a major degradation of this important national resource. Little did the filmmaker know that before his project's completion, the area would suffer an even greater disaster—the BP oil spill, which is fully documented. This well-made and comprehensive film is highly recommended for most libraries; unfortunately, the high cost will deny it a well-deserved place in many collections.—Tom Budlong, Atlanta