The Water Diviner (2014)

An Australian man travels to Turkey after the Battle of Gallipoli to try and locate his three missing sons.

Director:

Russell Crowe

Writers:

Andrew Knight, Andrew Anastasios

Stars:

Russell Crowe, Olga Kurylenko, Jai Courtney

14 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Russell Crowe	...	Connor
Olga Kurylenko	...	Ayshe
Yilmaz Erdogan	...	Major Hasan
Cem Yilmaz	...	Sgt. Jemal
Jai Courtney	...	Lt Colonel Hughes
Dylan Jett Georgiades	...	Orhan (as Dylan Georgiades)
Steve Bastoni	...	Omer
Isabel Lucas	...	Natalia
Salih Kalyon	...	Dr. Ibrahim
Megan Gale	...	Fatma
Ryan Corr	...	Art
James Fraser	...	Edward
Ben O'Toole	...	Henry
Jacqueline McKenzie	...	Eliza
Jack Patterson	...	Young Art

Storyline

After the Battle of Gallipoli, in 1915, an Australian farmer, Connor (Russell Crowe), travels to Turkey to find his 3 missing sons. While staying at a hotel in Istanbul, he meets Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko), the hotel manager. And tries to find a way to Gallipoli.

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Plot Keywords:

world war one | gallipoli | australian | battle of gallipoli | denial of armenian genocide | 

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Taglines:

A father's journey in search of his sons

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for war violence including some disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Facebook [Turkey]

Country:

Australia USA

Language:

English Turkish Greek Russian

Release Date:

26 December 2014 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Camino a Estambul

Filming Locations:

Burra, South Australia, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$22,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,220,335, 26 April 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,190,530, 28 June 2015

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,747,799, 15 May 2015

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fear of God Films, Hopscotch Features, RatPac Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First major role in a theatrical feature film of actor Dylan Georgiades who played Orhan.

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Goofs

The British Occupation troops in Constantinople/Istanbul are armed with very rough and obvious mockups of the fully stocked .303 caliber Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifles which were correct for their unit and period. "Giveaways" making the mockups obvious include: wrong bolt action; lack of the large charger bridge on the action; lack of the distinctive protective "ears" on the backsight; two fore-end bands where the real rifles had only one; incorrect buttstock; incorrect profile of the distinctive angled 10-round magazine which projects below the action on real SMLE rifles. Presumably mockups were necessary because armourers could not source sufficient stocks of the correct model of Lee-Enfield rifle in Turkey.

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Quotes

Connor: She wanted them buried in consecrated ground.
Lt-Col Cyril Hughes: How much blood do you need for it to be holy?

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Connections

Referenced in Projector: The Water Diviner/A Little Chaos (2015)

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Soundtracks

I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
Performed by Olga Kurylenko, Piano
Arranged by Richard Tognetti and Joseph Nizeti
Written by James Brockman, James Kendis, Nat Vincent (as Nathaniel Vincent) & John W. Kellette (as John Kellette)
Publishers: (c) 1919 Remick Music Corporation, Licensed by EMI Publishing Australia Pty Ltd / Redwood Music Ltd, Licensed courtesy of J. Albert & Son Pty Ltd

User Reviews

A Great Film from A Great Man

If this is Russell Crowe's first film I can't wait to see what is to come. The Water Diviner takes you an an impossible, heart warming journey of a father looking for his sons after the tragedy of Gallipoli. What this film does well is captures both sides of the battle, the Turkish and the ANZAC's. It is visually stunning, emotionally charged and does more than most movies to pry open your empathetic side.

The cast are amazing but I think my praise would have to go to Ryan Corr, Yilmaz Erdogen and Olga Kurylenko for three beautiful performances. All three of them aid Crowe's performance in a highly emotional way and create depth and love within the film.

I highly recommend giving this film a go if you appreciate a film with a good story and good talent and I hope it receives the praise and attention it deserves. It is definitely worth the watch.