H2o

You don't need to understand Canadian, US, or Native American politics to watch this film. As "Yanks", my Mum and I had no problem deciphering the Canadian political repercussions written throughout the script. All is explained if you just listen to what the characters are saying and follow along with the plot(I will admit I had to watch it twice, having missed some things the first time around, because I was working on a project. I would recommend giving your full attention to the mini-series, so you get the full impact of the film).

You get a great feel of how deeply proud Paul Gross is of his Canadian roots in the speech he gives at the fantastic gothic cathedral - setting the tone for the film. If true, the repercussions that set the plot are frightening: the lose of water throughout the political lines in Canada and the United States, and the lengths to which a government will take to grab hold of its neighbors water supply in order to protect its own.

The cinematography is fantastic, showing off the beauty of Canada's back-country (what we "Yanks" call "the woods"), and Ottawa. The Parliament Building and Cathedral are some of the most stunning buildings highlighted in this movie.

The performances are well done. Paul Gross finally sheds his "good boy" image, as he slowly descends into dictatorship mania. Watch for the great Shakespearean relationship, between his character and that of his mother (Martha Henry), reminescent of Macbeth and Hamlet. Leslie Hope brings out one of the best performances as the cop who slowly unwinds the bad deeds behind the new P.M., in order to expose him. Watch for appearances by Due South elites: Callum Rennie (playing a bad-ass assassin), Gordon Pinsent (the reporter), and Dean McDermott (the cop in the opening scenes).

Don't just watch this movie because you are a fan of Due South, Paul Gross, Callum Rennie, etc., watch this for it's intelligent writing, good acting, directing, and cinematography (and produced by the Gross' company: Whizbang Films).

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.