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 Georgiades	...	Orhan
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 Turkey

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

The Armenian Genocide is not mentioned in The Water Diviner (2014), which pretends that this event didn't matter or never happened. Since this is a Turkish co-production and was shot on location in Turkey, the screenplay would not have been approved by the authorities, if there was any reference to the Armenian Genocide. The denial is still official policy in Turkey today.

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Goofs

In the Galata area aerial overview scene the Galata tower has a cone shaped top, which was not built until the mid 1960s.

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Quotes

Lt-Col Cyril Hughes: Yeah, We both know it, but why change everything for one father who can't stay put?
Major Hasan: Because he is the only father who came looking.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Russell Crowe/Governor Chris Christie/Kenny Chesney (2015)

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Soundtracks

Love Was My Alibi
Written by Russell Crowe, Carl Falk, Kristoffer Fogelmark
Lead Vocals by Kristoffer Fogelmark
All instruments played and performed by Carl Falk
Produced by Carl Falk
Publisher: Gruntland Pty Ltd (APRA), SK Music admin. By Kobalt Control (STIM)
(c) 2014 Model 101 Records

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.