Review of The Water Diviner (2014) by James R — 24 Apr 2015

Came back from a free screening of Russell Crowe and I must say its a pretty good debut! The film is about a man named Joshua Conner (Russell Crowe) a water diviner who digs up wells in Australia to bring water to barren areas.

It takes place four years after WWI ended. Conner lives with his wife Eliza (Jacqueline McKenzie) who isn't quite all there since they're three sons never returned from the war. Conner blames himself for not raising his sons right and just letting them go off without another thought.

After some tragic events Conner travels to Turkey on a personal quest to bring back his sons and bring closure to his own fears. There in Turkey he befriends a young boy named Orhan (Dylan Georgiades) and his mother Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko) who owns a hotel.

Ayshe herself has a husband that went missing and she lives with the belief he's still alive. Conner soon finds his way back to Gallipoli where his sons where last heard from. There he befriends a Turkish officer Major Hasan (Yilmaz Erdogan) who helps him find his sons and finally but everything to rest.

I liked the film quite a bit. It's a sad tale, but Crowe does really well not only directing the film, but starring in the lead. I will say the last third of the film kinda starts falling apart getting in more of the hard to believe category, but it's nice for a happy ending once in awhile.

Overall, if you like war dramas that are less on action and more on story definitely give this one a look!