DVD Pick: Flow (For Love of Water)

Water is the new oil in newcomer Salina's alarming documentary

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

I suppose that most folks who go to the movies might think that a documentary about the state of the world's water supplies would be trivial when there's a couple of lengthy wars currently underway, in the midst of a global recession. But director Irena Salina (Ghost Bird: The Life and Art of Judith Deim) throws another log on the fire with her panic-ridden look into the world's most precious resource: water.

According to some of the experts that Salina (and producer Steven Starr) interviews for Flow, there's a lot that we don't know when it comes to the H2O affair, and it looks as though governments around the world want to keep it that way. Salina explores the toxic pollutants that end up in the drinking water of not only the Third World nations, but right in our own backyards as well. Pollutants that, in some cases, even end up in the highly unregulated bottled water we spend billions of our dollars on every year.

But it's the privitazation of the "blue gold" that warrants the real fear behind the limited supply the Earth sustains, and it's that same issue that carries the bulk of Flow. Major interntaional corporations--such as Suez, Vivendi, and Thames Water--are putting their flags into the freshwater supplies all over the globe, staking claim in property that defies ownership, and then distributing it back to the citizens on a for-profit basis.

Take a look at what the Nestle brand did when it decided to erect a pump site in Michigan, drilling into the homegrown spring waters and then bottling it for sale, tax-free! Similar cases have arose in other places by other conglomerates, but the World Bank takes the cake when it comes to immoral behaviour, as it lends billions of dollars to poor countries, and then takes control of national matters when those same countries are unable to reimburse. This was a tragic reality for the citizens of Bolivia, for example, who had no say when their government privitized their water stock at the demands of the World Bank, who threatened to refuse funds to the impoverished country.

Large companies like Suez also require colossal dams in order to trap and store the world's stockpile of freshwater--only 3% of the planet's aqua is fresh--which in turn ruins ecosystems and displaces literally tens of millions of people all over the world, most notably in destitute Asian territories.

Intriguing and informative as Flow may be, Salina is still new to her craft, a vulnerability that shows itself from time to time. Much of its 84 minutes are made up of continuous scenes of water flowing in all matters (from kitchen taps to frozen streams), and although it fits in undeniably with the subject matter, it's unnecessary and almost tacky. But she rectifies herself with the closing credits, debreifing us on the potential that surrounds solutions to these problems, ending on a good note rather than on the dire atmosphere the film established early on.

Salina guides us through the outrage and the terror, the frustration and inhumanity behind another inconvenient truth that is perpetually affecting the whole planet. The water shortage isn't just an exaggerated rumour, and it's not a matter that only the future generations will have to deal with. It's a global issue that is happening RIGHT NOW, and it's scarier than any weapon of mass destruction, because it is the closest thing to the apocalyptic fantasies of all those science fiction writers who wrote of the end of the line for mankind.

The filmmakers of Flow encourage everyone to check out their online community, where you can "take action" by signing up to the FreeFlo social network or sign a petition to add Article 31 ("establishing access to clean water as a fundamental human right") to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At flowthefilm.com you also have access to numerous organizations that support similar efforts.

3/5 stars