Review of The Water Diviner (2014) by Joshua S — 09 May 2015

Deserving more attention that it has thus far received, The Water Diviner represents Russell Crowe's directorial debut and the result is relatively successful, if unspectacular. While the plot involves an Australian man traveling to British-occupied post-Ottoman Turkey, trying to recover his sons' remains in the aftermath of WWI (all three were presumably killed at The Battle of Gallipoli), it is framed as a journey of self- discovery with light romantic elements.

Crowe proves to be a competent but not exceptional director. His true talents lie in front of the camera and he is still an able lead, provided he has something to work with. Olga Kurylenko perks up the picture a bit with her charms, even if her casting as a Turkish woman is questionable.

(She's French Russian, but Hollywood has been doing this shit forever, so who cares right?) There are many historical elements that go nowhere - the British Occupation, Turkish Nationalist movements, the Greek Invasion, women's lack of rights in an Islamic society, among others that just form noise and an interesting backdrop.

What proves more substantial is the film's true subtext about the aftermath of the WWI itself. I would argue that The Water Diviner is a light, somber epitaph to the generation of young men lost on both sides of the Middle Eastern campaign and the people they left behind.

It's not perfect and lacks the punch it might have had, but the topic is something more Americans need to be familiar with, and you could do far worse things with your time.