The Second Line

This is New Orleans, after Katrina. A white man hires two black men to clean up his flooded house. One of the black men (Al Thompson) has had money stolen from his caravan and so needs this job, however dirty and dangerous it may be.

Writer/director John Magary shoots in a documentary style, as unsentimental as ditch water. The white guy is a repellant example of humanity, overweight, greedy, unsympathetic, racist and mean. The black guys have a sense of humour, or a sense of the absurd, despite being treated like filth. The white’s guy’s woman lounges in an armchair in front of a wide screen TV, with a glass in her hand, wearing thrift shop hot pants and looking bored.

Although a mountain ride from Tennessee Williams, there is a strong narrative drive to this short film. There is no justice in poverty and there is no justice here. It reflects the Bush administration’s attitude towards New Orleans. Don’t expect help. You are on your own, brothers.