Review of The Water Diviner (2014) by Patrick L — 19 Aug 2015

"Russell Crowe's directorial debut "The Water Diviner" is a breathtaking historical epic".

DVD Movie Review: The Water Diviner.

Date Viewed: July 16 2015.

Directed By Russell Crowe.

Written By Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios.

Starring: Russell Crowe, Olga Kurylenko, Cem Yilmaz, Yilman Erdogan, Jai Courtney,.

Dylan Georgiades, Isabel Lucas, Damon Herriman, Daniel Wyllie, Mert Firat, Jacqueline McKenzie, Ryan Corr, James Fraser, Ben O'Toole, Steve Bastoni, Deniz Akdeniz and Megan Gale.

Russell Crowe's directorial debut "The Water Diviner" is a breathtaking historical epic. The cinematography by Andrew Lesnie is beautiful to look at, the score is achingly strong and the acting is brilliant. Some critics are calling it another old-fashioned, historical epic but it's more than that. It's about a man trying to cope with everything he's lost and moving on by trying to find his three sons who were all killed in action at the Battle of Gallipoli.

Set in 1919, just after World War I ended, "The Water Diviner" is about an Australian water diviner named Joshua Cooper (Crowe) and his quest to find the bodies of his three sons. His three sons, Arthur (Ryan Corr), Edward (James Fraser) and Henry (Ben O'Toole), served with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps for four years and they are all presumed dead. The disturbing news becomes too much for Cooper's wife, Eliza (Jacqueline McKenzie) so she commits suicide. Joshua vows to himself that he will bring the bodies of his three sons home and bury them with their mother.

Joshua's journey takes him to Turkey where he meets a war-widowed, single mother named Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko). Ayshe runs a hotel in Istanbul with her young son and Joshua goes to the British consul to get information on Gallipoli but they tell him the site is off limits. Joshua begins a close relationship with the young boy, Orhan (Dylan Georgiades) but after going in the Gallipoli site, the British consul seeks to deport him.

The Gallipoli site gave Joshua critical information about what happened to his sons, he learns that Arthur may have been taken prisoner so there is hope that he may be still alive.

"The Water Diviner" is a compelling tale from director and star Russell Crowe. He gives another terrific performance as Cooper, a water diviner who seeks to find out what happened to his sons. Crowe also blends in with the history and the politics of this story which is a simplistic one. "The Water Diviner" is a top-notch directing debut for Crowe and it's one of the more better films of the year.