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#14 - The Water Diviner
Russell Crowe, 2014
In the aftermath of World War I, an Australian farmer who lost his three sons during the Gallipoli campaign embarks on a journey to Turkey in order to recover their bodies.
Well, it's not a bad film, but it's not exactly special either. It's that kind of against-all-odds story that also finds time for its protagonist to go through a journey of self-discovery at the same time. Crowe acts and directs and he proves a serviceable lead who is able to emote reasonably well during his character's search for his dead sons. Even so, the show is stolen by Yılmaz Erdoğan, who plays the Turkish major that serves as a morally complex foil to Crowe and the other Australian characters in the film, especially since he not only has to help the Australians locate their dead but also wage an ongoing war against Greek insurgents. When he eventually joins forces with Crowe the film picks up, but until that point the film generally just plods along as Crowe faces off against soldiers and bureaucrats from both Australia and Turkey. There's also a subplot involving a Turkish war widow (Olga Kurylenko) that I'm not sure is better at helping the film or hindering it.
The Water Diviner has a fairly ambitious scope but it's set back by all-too-familiar narratives and developments that are only just good enough so that you don't mind them playing out as they do. I'm probably underselling it a little, but it does feel like there's a more interesting story happening on the sidelines with the Turkish major and the Greek insurgents rather than the simplistic heartwarming drama of an Australian widower trying to do right by his family.
Russell Crowe, 2014
In the aftermath of World War I, an Australian farmer who lost his three sons during the Gallipoli campaign embarks on a journey to Turkey in order to recover their bodies.
Well, it's not a bad film, but it's not exactly special either. It's that kind of against-all-odds story that also finds time for its protagonist to go through a journey of self-discovery at the same time. Crowe acts and directs and he proves a serviceable lead who is able to emote reasonably well during his character's search for his dead sons. Even so, the show is stolen by Yılmaz Erdoğan, who plays the Turkish major that serves as a morally complex foil to Crowe and the other Australian characters in the film, especially since he not only has to help the Australians locate their dead but also wage an ongoing war against Greek insurgents. When he eventually joins forces with Crowe the film picks up, but until that point the film generally just plods along as Crowe faces off against soldiers and bureaucrats from both Australia and Turkey. There's also a subplot involving a Turkish war widow (Olga Kurylenko) that I'm not sure is better at helping the film or hindering it.
The Water Diviner has a fairly ambitious scope but it's set back by all-too-familiar narratives and developments that are only just good enough so that you don't mind them playing out as they do. I'm probably underselling it a little, but it does feel like there's a more interesting story happening on the sidelines with the Turkish major and the Greek insurgents rather than the simplistic heartwarming drama of an Australian widower trying to do right by his family.