The Water Diviner (2015)

That was an excellent one.

Such a frustrating disappointment

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

This movie starts with some beautiful wide shots, then quickly turns sentimental. When the father arrives in Turkey to look for his sons after the battle of Gallipoli, the story seems to hold up, but quickly starts disintegrating into non-relevant elements. Towards the end it's getting weak and very hard to watch. Think soap-opera cheesy. I was also very irritated by the attempts at whitewashing Ottoman/Turkish history. First this happens when visiting the Blue Mosque, where the father is so surprised to acknowledge that such a beautiful thing does not exist in his culture. Well, maybe not in Australia, but sitting next to it is the Hagia Sophia, until modern times the building with the largest dome, which was a Christian Church until it was captured by the same Ottomans during their conquest of the Byzantine (Roman) Empire. The Hagia Sophia is thus an expression of the same culture that led to the culture of Australia. Second, during the second half, Greeks are painted as truly evil villains against the noble Turks, whereas during the period of 1914-1922 is known by historians as the Greek genocide: the systematic genocide of the Christian Ottoman Greek population from Turkey, by the Ottoman Empire's government. Third, the movie is also completely silent about the Armenian genocide from 1915-1923 where the same (Islamic) government exterminated 1.5 million (Christian) Armenians, something acknowledged by international scholars, but denied by Turkish government to this day. That same genocide has been the inspiration for Hitler's genocide against among others the Jews during World War 2. He said of it:"Our strength consists in our speed and in our brutality. Genghis Khan led millions of women and children to slaughter -- with premeditation and a happy heart. History sees in him solely the founder of a state. It's a matter of indifference to me what a weak western European civilization will say about me.I have issued the command -- and I'll have anybody who utters but one word of criticism executed by a firing squad -- that our war aim does not consist in reaching certain lines, but in the physical destruction of the enemy. Accordingly, I have placed my death-head formations in readiness -- for the present only in the East -- with orders to them to send to death mercilessly and without compassion, men, women, and children of Polish derivation and language. Only thus shall we gain the living space which we need. Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"Hitler was well aware that denial of the Armenian genocide was a strong signal that his tyranny would not be opposed by the civilized world. It is telling that Russell Crowe sought Turkish approval, and the Turkish minister of culture told him "I believe in the script.". That's the same minister who's responsible for Article 301 in the penal code, which has been used to prosecute Turkish citizens who have brought the Armenian genocide to the attention of the people. No wonder Armenian and Greek organizations have called for a boycot of this film.

The water diviner with his sixth sense and his superior martial skills make this movie pretty bad. Historical inaccuracies and distortions make it plainly disturbing. The time this movie takes place is very special for the Ottoman Empire. Before WWI the empire was probably the most multicultural country of that time. Gallipoli is the greek name of the city, at least this is shown in the movie, Turks use a different name. After the war, Turkish nationalism and religious fanaticism rose significantly. Hate and crimes towards Greek, Armenian and Assyrian citizens started during the war and reached the point of genocide. All we see in this movie is how the Turkish suffered from the Greek invasion which started in 1919. 6-7 years after the Turks had set in motion their ethnic cleansing. Yes, of course this bred too much hate from Greeks towards Turks. Greeks are shown as a pile of dirty and purely evil criminals attacking "all innocent" Turks, no comment, no context. A couple years later Turks achieved their ethnic cleansing and the Ottoman Empire became Turkey. Turkey still doesn't recognise these genocides, although many countries do, such as Germany and Netherlands. Movie ending: "This film is dedicated to all those who remain lost and nameless and who live on in the hearts and memories of their families" is just too disrespectful considering these.

Surprisingly I enjoyed this historical war drama about a father searching for his sons in the aftermath of WWI in Turkey. The Gallipoli battle scenes are well done and exciting. The locations are stunning and exotic. The Istanbul hotel is charming. Some of the continuity is lacking between scenes and the story seems to progress abruptly in some scenes. The sending of so many British soldiers after one poor old man is ludicrous.The story is interesting and is well crafted around the historical context. Looking for bodies in the aftermath of battle is quite a powerful anti war statement. Liked the political correctness by showing the Turkish point of view (you invaded us). The weakness is in the message of reconciliation which is a bit too strong - hints of romance between Crowe and the stunning Olga Kurlyenko and between his son and the lady of the night is too much. Russell is too old for Olga. That kind of cheapens the effect and seems like a plump old man's fantasy.Worth a watch.

I have never particularly been a fan of Russell Crowe, although once in a while he has starred in films where he has impressed me (e.g., "Gladiator", "A Beautiful Mind"). But with this film, in my view, Crowe has crossed over into something more than just a good actor...now he is a fine director. I am guessing that Russell Crowe sees this film as his masterpiece. And rightfully so.That is not to say that this is a perfect film. First of all, it failed at the box office, and the reason is that it is a very complex film. To appreciate this film, you really need to be a serious film-watcher.Second, Crowe has attempted to tackle a very difficult topic -- looking at the collision of two cultures, and unlike many films about two cultures, this is about two cultures that seemingly can never the twain meet. Although I knew very little about the Battle Of Gallipoli, with only a few battle scenes, the suffering of that conflagration is vividly depicted. Few films have shown the horror of war more successfully than does this one. There are a few scenes -- the railroad scene, for example -- that remind me just a bit of David Lean's work.It would be fair to call this film epic in nature. The scope is broad, the various settings often stunning, and this is one of the few films I have ever seen where I felt the film should have been longer.There are times that what we are seeing is confusing, particularly in regard to some of the cultural aspects of Turkey. That's where I feel that a few more minutes might have avoided some of the confusion as to what we are seeing.I was truly impressed with the acting here,almost without exception. Crowe is superb; perhaps the best he has ever been...now that he is in middle age. Olga Kurylenko, a Ukranian actress, is excellent. Dylan Georgiades, an Australian child actor is as good as I've ever seen. Yılmaz Erdoğan, a Kurdish actor playing a general, is excellent, as well. Ryan Corr as the one son who lived is very good, although we don't see too much of him, even though he is actually the focus of the film.Thank you, Mr. Crowe, for a very fine effort. A truly touching film.