The film, inspired from real events, is about Australian
Joshua Connor's quest for his three long-lost sons - that had gone on the
Battle of Gallipoli - post World War I. The sons haven't returned home for 4-years and his wife, in strife, commits suicide. Joshua promises her at her
grave that he would bring them back home. And then starts his journey to
Gallipoli, via Instanbul. He receives primary support in his campaign from
Major Hasan, a Turkish major, and able support off the 'battlefield' from Orhan
and Ayshe, in a Turkish lodge.
Russell Crowe as the father and the water spotter / diviner is a
natural. And yet, his character could have been made more interesting,
especially in a slow movie like this. But then, it seems typical of an actor
like Russell Crowe to pays more attention to the story itself than the other parts that make the movie.
Olga Kurylenko is pleasing, though stiff in places.
Yilmaz
Erdogan manages to do well and stand on his own as the Turkish major.
Ryan Corr's casting could have been better, or the director could have
offered his character more as there appeared to be more potential between Arthur and his father.
Joshua's chemistry with Ayshe is predictable and Bollywood-ish. I was relieved though that there were no love scenes in the movie, keeping it pretty low-lying.
Three dialogues in the movie stood out for me.
1. That the
Australians fought wars more for principle than for land; this could have had
some explanation, I thought, unless I'm missing something.
2. "Don’t
invade a country if you don’t know where it is."
3. A Lieutenant Colonel asks Major Hassan, "What were you doing
before the war?" This is Ottoman Empire; there is no such thing as before the war here, is his reply.
Crowe does a pretty decent job in his first feature-film as a director, and it was nice to see that he did not give-in to the superstar in him, and get carried away, thus keeping his role and character in check, throughout.
The art direction and cinematography is natural and well-handled. Right from the boiled egg to the Turkish coffee to the market and the streets - and even the reference to the Turkish towels and carpets - Turkey is shown pretty well.
But the pace could have been better. The content seemed too simple. The war
scenes seemed pretty basic and could have been a little riveting, considering
the advancement in technology today.
The movie is possibly more than just about
a father trying to find his sons. However, the message is not delivered well enough; just like the title of the film, itself, which could have possibly been saved for
a better script. One may be left wondering how the name (The Water Diviner) fitted into the scheme of things, so to say. Divine Intervention for the water-spotter in finding his children, perhaps...
I came out of the cinema-hall wondering if the waiter had forgotten to
bring in all the dishes that I had ordered for, from the ala-carte menu in a restaurant, in a foreign land. Also thought about how Steven Spielberg or Clint Eastwood would have handled it, or just about any director specializing in films centred around war.
All in all, I feel that this movie and setting would have worked even better two decades ago. Turned out to be just about an okay watch.
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