Closed For Storm (2021)
Who else is rolling with this wild winter weather we’re having in the United States lately? Or at least hunkering down as much as possible? I get to do a little of both as a crossing guard, and yes, I have stories, but I won’t go there. Not on here, anyway. :-)
So yeah, the weather is probably what drew me to Closed For Storm, Bright Sun Films’ short documentary about the ill-fated Six Flags New Orleans park that closed for Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Solidarity, even left-field solidarity, is somehow comforting.
While there were promises of rebirth, the park has sat empty and partially dismantled for almost twenty years, making it a haven for vandals, urban explorers, and, well, anyone who wants to go someplace a little secretive and maybe a little dangerous.
The film begins at the beginning in the year 2000, when the park was originally known as Jazzland. Initially, it was a huge hit with the locals, reflecting the character and culture of New Orleans, but by the second year, the novelty wore off and attendance dropped by almost half. Six Flags was its savior, buying the park in 2003 and rechristening it Six Flags New Orleans.
When Hurricane Katrina loomed, the park staff walked away, expecting to return as soon as everything blew over, but no one knew how bad it would be and no one came back, at least not to an operating park. The film shows surreal views of the park fully flooded, and then even more surreal urbex footage following the waters receding. It looks frozen in time, albeit with a tide mark of six feet high or more, showing offices and back rooms with water-damaged calendars and posters looking as if they’re waiting for a showtime that will never come.
As of last year, all plans to rehabilitate the park have fallen through, and Closed For Storm covers everything current to its time of production. It’s implied that even if Katrina hadn’t happened, the New Orleans park might have been doomed anyway, because in the early 2000s Six Flags had declared bankruptcy and was looking to tighten its collective belt. Hurricane Katrina piled trouble upon trouble.
Bright Sun has made its name for itself on YouTube, so it’s really easy to peg this film as being more of the same, but Closed For Storm is almost too good for YouTube, and I say that even though there are a lot of competent documentarians on that platform. I wondered if it was going to be part documentary and mostly urban exploration like what Bright Sun’s past videos have been, but in this case they play things straight and it looks terrific. This is what it looks like when a channel is ready to expand its reach.
Closed For Storm is paced perfectly and covers all the high points of its story with just enough extra to feel satisfyingly meaty but not bogged down with cuteness or excess detail. It presents all sides of the Jazzland saga from the point of view of employees, whether at the corporate level or at the park, as well as the residents of East New Orleans, many of whom wait and hope in vain for the park’s rebirth, as its decrepit state does nothing to help their property values or quality of life. Most of New Orleans has recovered and thrived since Katrina, but East New Orleans remains in a state of malaise.
Bright Sun’s documentary is both a tribute to what was lost as well as a melancholy glimpse of the park’s uncertain future. I sincerely hope it’s not the channel’s last documentary, as they clearly know what they’re doing.
Closed For Storm is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Not rated.
My grade: A+
Principal cast: Jared Black, Ryan Bordenave, Jason Cambre, Colt Connell, DJ Express, Patricia Franicevich, Kenney Guidry, Jr., Troy Henry, Christian Kelly, Roy Mouledous, Tonya Pope, Efrem Towns, George W. Bush (archival footage)
Directed and written by Jake Williams.