Shake the Devil Off

After the devastation caused by hurricane Katrina, 'the new New Orleans' should rise from the debris of 'the old New Orleans'. But for the members of the Roman Catholic St. Augustine Church the destruction continues: the bishop threatens to close down the charming wooden church. The 75-year-old father LeDoux encourages his parishioners to resist. They are accompanied by swinging musical talent. The father never loses his sense of humour: "A good sermon is like a woman's dress: long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be interesting." The film follows the pattern of an Easter tale, in which the popular father first has to step down before coming back. LeDoux's replacement, who has to merge the mixed community with another one, is rejected and blamed for destroying a place where "the children of slaves and the children of slave owners have come together." The biblical references and associative images are myriad, like the alternation of a ritual around the baptismal font and archive footage of Katrina's water. The end titles make clear that the saying 'all's well that ends well' does not hold here.