I don't know if this is a spoiler or not, but I have no doubt that if the extremely unlikely events depicted in this teleplay ever occurred, millions of us (literally) would be out in the streets, guns in hand (yes, we still have guns up here!).H2O portrays Canadians as a bunch of supine, weak-willed, uncaring fools ruled by a secret clique manipulating a naive political class, but then again, lefties portray all nationalities that way.You can tell some lefty wrote it to press all the lefty buttons: the Kennedy mythos, mass political apathy, water exports, American and corporate dominance, military skulduggery, etc. Way, way over the top. If they had dialled it down a kilotonne it could have been at least comparable to "A Very British Coup", which was also a lefty daydream but much more realistic.
... View More"H20" is a mini-series that keeps you on the edge of your seat. What Paul Gross and John Krizanc have written is a masterful addition to the political thriller genre, where the viewer never knows who is the villain and who is the good guy. Add to that a superb cast of actors (including Gross, Martha Henry, Peter MacNeill) and the cinematic eye of director Charles Biname, and you have a satisfying and intelligent piece of work. I recommend this highly: how often do you get an exciting drama that makes you think about our political system and how dependent we are on the benevolence of our neighbours to the south? Ten out of ten.
... View MoreHaving just watched this on tape I have to was both shocked and in awe at the magnitude of this mini-series.We know for a fact that the American water supply is dwindling, and their first port of call for a refill will be north of the border, so why not make a movie about it ?As political junkie, I can tell you yes a candidate can be elected in a by election, have a leadership race, win it and then become defacto PM, unlikely but possible [which is the basic premise for this whole movie].Acting was excellent, sets were above average, some scenarios was jaw droppingly plausible, especially the playing of Quebec and First Nations off each other. The idea of solicitor general as being a national hero was a bit of a stretch. However, once the war measures act was dropped he was about the only person in the country that could have done what he did. The mis-use of absolute power under the act played equally in to the hands of both sides here, the sight of tanks on parliament hill was scary enough.I think this is a plausible future, not much different than the millions of Austrians who were a little shocked when Germany annexed them prior to WW2.The scenario I would like to see played out would have been what next ? The annexation of Canada by the USA would lead to what ? I envisioned WW3 with Europe and the UK coming to the aid of Canada and a conventional WW3 being fought right here in North America.
... View MoreAs someone who is very fond of politics- especially Canadian politics- this film deeply troubles me.It is the story of how the country can be bought and sold so easily. It is a warning. While extremely unlikely, this could happen. It uses characters very deliberately based on previous Canadian icons (Trudeau being the big one) to hit close to home. These people have already been in power and we never thought anything overly terrible of what they did while they were in power. This film- in a very Isaac Asimov way (though, obviously Asimov was brilliant and Gross, while a good writer, cannot compare) shows us how close we are to our greatest fears. One day, the prime minister dies in a canoeing incident and after running and winning leadership of the party his father lead, his son takes power and starts pushing through some very aggressive legislations. Later, we find out that his father's death and that of the woman who was with him were suspicious in the extreme and we start to see little by little what's really going on, though the ending is a total shock. It is hard to describe without giving it away, so suffice it to say it uses past Canadian political experiences (the Free Trade agreement, the War Measures Act, Black October) to show how close we are to losing it all. With outstanding direction (actually making Parliament Hill look sexy), great acting from Paul Gross, Guy Nadon and Martha Henry and a shocker ending, this is well worth watching. Especially for Canadian political junkies like me.
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