The Water Diviner (2015)

I love history and Istanbul, and this movies just adds more flavor to my likings. Really a wonderful watch. Shows the courage and bravery of 3 Australian brothers who joined Military and served in a war. Two brothers never make it back, and the last remaining is a mystery for father who will later travel from Australia to Turkey.

After the Battle of Gallipoli, in 1915, an Aussie farmer called Connor (Russell Crowe), travels to Turkey after the Battle of Gallipoli to attempt locate his three sons , allegedly missing in action . At a hotel he meets a beautiful widow (Olga Kurylenko who learned Turkish for her character), and later on he tries to find out a way in arrive to Gallipoli , where reportedly died his children . As he must travel across the war-torn landscape with the help of a British Lt Colonel called Hughes (Jai Courtney) and a Turkish Officer (Erdogan) . Meanwhile , there takes place the Greek-Turkish war and the invasion of Smirna by the Greeks . As it is set during the Turkish War of Independence, in revolutionary days during fall of the Ottoman Empire . The War resulted the defeat of Greece in Western Turkey (Greco-Turkish war), on the East, Armenian state and Britain, France and Georgia. This is a family story in which is treated thought-provoking issues with a tough man holding onto hope, fighting for a desire , and bringing to life a promise . Australian Russell Crowe gives an acceptable actiing as the Aussie father who goes out to find his 3 missing sons and while staying at a hotel in Istanbul, he falls in love with a gorgeous widow. The charming Olga Kurylenko is good as the attractive widow mistreated by his brother-in-law who wants to marry her . Support cast is pretty well , such as Jai Courtney , Isabel Lucas and Jacqueline McKenzie who also starred with Crowe in the 1992 hit Romper Stomper . And some fine Turks actors as Cem Yilmaz and Yilmaz Erdogan who are both comedy actors in Turkey . It displays a colorful and evocative cinematography by Oscar-winning cameraman Andrew Lesnie , being his final movie . Sensitive as well as thrilling musical score by David Hirschfelder , helped by Lisa Gerard .The motion picture was stunningly acted/produced/directed by Russell Crowe . The picture gives an interesting portrayal about the bloody campaign and battle of Gallipoli . There happened the following : The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign, the Battle of Gallipoli, or the Battle of Çanakkale , was a campaign of the First World War that took place on the Gallipoli peninsula (Gelibolu in modern Turkey) in the Ottoman Empire between 17 February 1915 and 9 January 1916. The peninsula forms the northern bank of the Dardanelles, a strait that provided a sea route to the Russian Empire, one of the Allied powers during the war. Intending to secure it, Russia's allies, Britain and France, launched a naval attack followed by an amphibious landing on the peninsula, with the aim of capturing the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (modern Istanbul).The naval attack was repelled and after eight months' fighting, with many casualties on both sides, the land campaign was abandoned and the invasion force was withdrawn to Egypt.The campaign was the only major Ottoman victory of the war. In Turkey, it is regarded as a defining moment in the nation's history, a final surge in the defence of the motherland as the Ottoman Empire crumbled. The campaign is often considered to be the beginning of Australian and New Zealand national consciousness; 25 April, the anniversary of the landings, is known as "Anzac Day", the most significant commemoration of military casualties and veterans in the two countries, surpassing Remembrance Day , Armistice Day .The struggle formed the basis for the Turkish War of Independence and the declaration of the Republic of Turkey eight years later, with Mustafa Kemal (Kemal Atatürk) as President, who rose to prominence as a commander at Gallipoli. Mustafa Kemal, Attaturk commanded the Turkish national movement in the war of independence. His successful military campaigns led to liberation of the country and to the establishing of Turkey. He transformed the former Ottoman Empire into a democratic, modern, secular nation-state , his reforms are referred as Kemalism. Ankara became the new capital and Kemal abolished the Caliphate and Sultanate. .

THE WATER DIVINER is a family drama set in the years following Australia's disastrous foray into WW1, the Gallipoli campaign. Russell Crowe plays a grieving father whose three sons all vanished, presumed dead, in the battle. Spurred by an old battle diary he decides to travel to Turkey to find out the fate of his offspring for himself.This is a film that seems to have been devised as an ill-conceived history lesson for Australian viewers. Certainly as a movie it's not very interesting, lacking life and vision. There are a handful of flashback battle sequences in the film which play out all the clichés, and the present day material involving Crowe's character isn't very good. His romance with Olga Kurylenko (utterly out of her depth in her attempt to play a Turk), clumsily shoehorned into the story, is quite laughable.Elsewhere this veers between maudlin introspection and old-fashioned jingoism. What's most surprising is the blatant way this film whitewashes history, with each country being stereotyped to basic levels. The British are humourless, dour, and unfriendly; the Greeks are evil; the Aussies are gentle and heroic; the Turks are misunderstood. It's basic stuff indeed and portrays certain events in surprising ways given the complexity of the real-life historical situation. The climax is as predictable as they come, and although Crowe employs decent cinematography in his directorial debut, he just doesn't have the power to bring a lacklustre script to life.

Joshua Connor (Russell Crowe) is an Australian farmer who lost his three sons in the Battle of Gallipoli. Four years later, his wife Eliza dies and he vows to bring his sons home to be buried next to their mother. In Istanbul, he rents a room from war widow Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko) who is under pressure. Connor sneaks into Gallipoli despite the British military. Major Hasan commanded Turkish troops during the battle and decides to help Connor find his dead sons.There is a sense of the great epic. I really like the movie going to Gallipoli. However, it goes on a little too long with a few twist that is less believable. It would be better to not have those turns. It also tries to make the Turks victims and the Greeks villains which doesn't necessarily sit well. I do have a few problems with the story in the second half. It's Russell Crowe's theatrical directing debut and his visual efforts are impressive. He is able to keep flow of the story and shows some solid skills as a director.