Cajun Country [DVD] [1996]

Heading west out of New Orleans through the Atchafalaya Basin and across Whiskey Bay, one enters the Cajun country of Southwest Louisiana. With fiddler Aly Bain as a tour guide, viewers explore the unique cultural traditions and music of the French Arcadian descendants known as Cajuns. Whether it is a crawfish boil, a fais do do, or the Courir de Mardi Gras, Cajun people do things in a special way -- and always to the accompaniment of food and music. Bain visits with some contemporary musical luminaries, including Michael Doucet, Ann and Marc Savoy, Boozoo Chavis, and Queen Ida. The traditional sounds of the legendary fiddler Dewey Balfa are heard, along with the sonorous voice of the "Cajun Hank Williams," D.L. Menard. The documentary captures the spirit of the people who live by their saying, Laissez les bons temps roulez.