Customer Reviews

H2O

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This political thriller/satire is a joy for those of us who prefer the drama of ideas over car chases and explosions: although an explosion plays a key factor in the final plot twist of this excellent production. This Canadian miniseries is a doozy of a commentary on the politcal relationship between the USA and Canada and the politics of water: a resource even more primal and more sought after than oil.

It starts with the murder of the Canadian prime minister and his son's assumption to power,then careens through conspiracy, megolamania, a plan to drain the Great Lakes, and the breakdown of a stable country.

Elements of this miniseries remind me of "Dr. Strangelove" that great satire from the Cold War era. No one rides a nuclear warhead down to detonation, but the conspirators ride an equally insane plot to the unexpected, but not unbelievable end. Paul Gross does not "Sig Heil" with black leather gloves, but under the sohpisticated and glossy veneer, his character is as much a megalomaniac as Strangelove himself. Although Gross is the catalytic character, he is part of an excellent ensemble cast.

The director moves the story forward through a combination of flashbacks, and intercuts of people acting simultaneously in different locations It is skillfully done and easy to follow. Viewers in the USA, may find obscure some of the references to the First Nations and the separatist movement within French Canada: one follows the thought but misses the "colors and reverberations" around it.

H2O was engrossing because of the ideas expressed; I watched it twice immediately, but found none of the characters engaged my empathy with the exception of a police officer doomed to die early in the game. And I have to add that if the "facts" about the acquifer in the Midwest is at all close to the truth, this film is scarier in the ramifications than any "Night of the Living Dead." This is not quite a five star film because there is a plot element that is a little thin, but it is better than only four stars.

Having Paul Gross write, produce and star in any production should be like having a licence to print money. I hope the reason he has not gone completely "Hollywood" is by choice and not lack of opportunities.

This film is a riviting piece of work. Relevant politcial intrigues and amazing charters dominate this film. The ending is unexpected but completely logical given current realities and the clues in the film. Best three hours I have spent in months.

Do you like Parliamentary procedure? Do you like dark, post 9/11 speculative drama? Then this is the thriller for you. Actually, you don't have to love the Westminster system of Government to follow this brutal little number, but understanding what a vote of confidence is and why the Governor General would get involved is probably a help. The suspense builds throughout H2O and no-one is spared the consequences of their actions. Very satisfying, building a believable if extreme plot centered around the Prime Minister's death, with an ending that absolutely does not cop out. Mandatory viewing if you question the ends to which various Governments have used "War on Terror" rhetoric to further policies that would have been unthinkable otherwise.

Most Americans are benignly unaware of the Canadian politics going on above us, but "H2O" is a Canadian political thriller that posits some interesting questions: What if Canada began shipping its water south to the United States? Why would they do this? And why are Canada and the United States two separate countries at all?

The movie opens with the Canadian Prime Minister (PM) being killed in a canoeing accident (if he were American, he would have been shot or died in a plane crash, but since he's Canadian, he dies in a canoeing accident!), and his son taking over as PM for an interim period. As the story progresses, we learn that the grief-stricken son is not quite as noble as he looks, and there is a plot afoot to use the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to facilitate the cross-border shipments of fresh water from the Great Lakes to the perpetually thirsty American southwest.

I won't give away any more of the plot, but speaking as a person who is somewhat knowledgeable about international water resources politics (a colleague and I wrote an academic paper about North American water exports around the time this film was made), I wished the story had more to do with the actual environmental realities surrounding fresh water exports than with Canadian inter-party politics. Yes, the terms of NAFTA specify that once water is exported as a commodity, it must continue to be shipped domestically and internationally in equal measure. This means that if there is a water shortage, domestic shipments must be curtailed to the same degree that exports are curtailed; in other words, Canada must treat American and Mexican customers the same as it treats Canadian customers. However, the premise of the story is that Canada's exporting water to the United States is a big danger for the country, and yet it is not explained why this should be the case. Nowhere is it proposed that Canada might run out of water. The film hints that water services are being privatized by large corporations - surprise, where is this not happening in the world? All I'm left with is the idea that it is an affront to Canadian pride that Americans should be drinking their water at all. Did they not read NAFTA before they ratified it?

Paul Gross makes a fine if slimy grieving son-turned-PM, and Leslie Hope and Guy Nadon were believable as the team attempting to put themselves together and ride to the rescue of the aforementioned Canadian pride. (Martha Henry was, I thought, a bit too Lady Macbeth as the wine-guzzling widow of the former PM and mother of the current PM.) If the story premise were followed upon, I was left wondering what the Americans would have thought of the following news headline: "Canada to become part of United States"? Would any of them have even remarked, eh?

The rise of Tom McLaughlin (Paul Gross). Excellent political conspiracy thriller, as an Irishman I know jack-all bout Canada's political system but that didn't stop me from being glued to this for the three hours. Fantastic, snappy and very well-written.

Item was purchased through Amazon from an outside provider (Kylakins). When watched, two thirds of the way through the movie the disc would not play any further. Discovered the disc was defective. I can return to Amazon for a refund, but not directly to the provider for a new copy. In order to reorder this movie, I would not be able to get it for the same price I had purchased in October(approx.. $23.00) but would now have to buy it for $39.99. I definitely do not want to pay this amount for any movie but would like to see how the movie ends. I will have to reconsider ordering items from Amazon, through a second party source in the future. I am very disappointed.

Our neighbors to the north present a fable, set in Canada, about taking control of water. It is a compelling mimic of what some of their thoughtful writers may have observed in the behavior of the United States government. It is a little melodramatic and thrilling in a dreadful way. I doubt that many of my compatriots will watch because it is very Canadian culturally. However, it is an interesting story depicting how fragile democracy and the truth are. Conspiracy theorists will really lap this up. The ending has a very interesting twist.

I really like Paul Gross and try to watch his work whenever I can find it. This would make an interesting pairing with Milagro Beanfield War. For truly wonderful work by Paul Gross and other gifted Canadians, check out all of Slings and Arrows, a wonderful television series, 3 (Canadian/6 episodes) seasons-worth.

Yes . . . it's called the United States!

I was very bored by this. It just did not make much sense and I had a hard time watching all of it. In fact, I fast forward it.