Russell Crowe came a few months ago under fire after he had made in an interview

Russell Crowe came a few months ago under fire after he had made in an interview that his female colleague ?? s in their rolkeuze should rely more on their age. These statements are perhaps a bit simplistic, but hypocrisy is not to blame the actor. After all, unlike a peer like Brad Pitt (who pointed out similar as possible to get roles that were intended actually thirties), Crowe has focused in recent years on playing men in a somewhat later stage of life. This has primarily resulted in many father roles. Crowes directorial debut The Water Diviner fits in well in with a story about a father of three young adult brothers who have exchanged the Australian countryside during the First World War to the battlefields of Europe.

When his wife dies, Joshua Connor travels his sons chase, since none of them ever returned from the war. They are in fact ended up in the Gallipoli Campaign, a months-long battle between Australians and Turks, which resulted in great losses on both sides. On the former battlefield is just after the war worked by Australian, British and Turkish soldiers to identify the dead. This process is accelerated when Connor arrives: the man can find water in the wild and therefore identify with certainty where his sons are killed (?). When there are only two, flourishes the hope that the third one is still alive.

Now WWI exactly one hundred years behind us, seems to have created a renewed interest in this period. Uplifting are the stories of this war is not determined and Gallipoli is no exception: it was a pointless battle in which both Australia and Turkey (or rather the Ottoman Empire) had nothing to win and just like pawn of their British and German allies had. The Water Diviner's not too much in the political motivations that led to the offensive, but let there be no doubt that it has produced no winners. In a handful of powerful flashbacks we see the horrors of this battle is particularly close.

Although Crowe by his nationality undoubtedly feel any involvement in the story seems a passion project is not necessarily the case; He is, after all, not as a writer or producer in the credits. As a director he does by no means bad, but The Water Diviner was in the hands of a more experienced filmmaker probably extracted more interesting. In narrative terms are clear to be seen a lot of improvement. For example, the film in the first twenty minutes, contains four segments, only one of which is essential for the story, and the rest, there are merely to set the tone. So far no problem, but Crowe throws them rather haphazardly together. Why start with the discovery of the Turkish troops that the struggle has ended, instead of the much more effective events of previous years with his young sons Connor saves a huge sandstorm?

A bigger problem is the tone. For a film that deals with one of the greatest war trauma ?? s both Australia and Turkey and the start of the Turkish War of Independence, it is very frivolous to it in postwar Istanbul. The beautifully tidy city constantly bathed in a golden glow that gives the impression that there has never been a war. That might explain why every Turk who met Connor speaks flawless English and every culture difference is overcome within a short time. After a rather aimless rippling middle part has picked Crowe somewhat in the remarkably exciting finale (in which suddenly the Greeks are presented as third-rate villains), but by some gentle handling of cases, the film is unfortunately still like fizzled out.