The Water Diviner
Written by Andrew Knight & Andrew Anastasios
Directed by Russell Crowe
Australia/Turkey/USA, 2014
Russell Crowe comes out swinging with his directorial debut, the ambitious wartime melodrama, The Water Diviner. While there’s no denying the clarity of his artistic vision, the unwieldy story eventually overwhelms him. The stunning visuals and strong performances can’t overcome the film’s mismatched halves, which ping between brooding character study and simplistic actioner. Ultimately, there’s much to like about this promising debut, but it lacks the emotional wallop that Crowe intended.
Struggling to survive the Australian dustbowl of 1919, Connor (Crowe) is a humble farmer who wanders the vast desert searching for unseen pockets of water buried beneath the surface. He’s remarkably adept at this ancient, some would say mystical art. What he truly seeks, however, continues to elude him; the final resting place of his three sons. The three boys,...
Written by Andrew Knight & Andrew Anastasios
Directed by Russell Crowe
Australia/Turkey/USA, 2014
Russell Crowe comes out swinging with his directorial debut, the ambitious wartime melodrama, The Water Diviner. While there’s no denying the clarity of his artistic vision, the unwieldy story eventually overwhelms him. The stunning visuals and strong performances can’t overcome the film’s mismatched halves, which ping between brooding character study and simplistic actioner. Ultimately, there’s much to like about this promising debut, but it lacks the emotional wallop that Crowe intended.
Struggling to survive the Australian dustbowl of 1919, Connor (Crowe) is a humble farmer who wanders the vast desert searching for unseen pockets of water buried beneath the surface. He’s remarkably adept at this ancient, some would say mystical art. What he truly seeks, however, continues to elude him; the final resting place of his three sons. The three boys,...
- 4/23/2015
- by J.R. Kinnard
- SoundOnSight
The immediate draw to The Water Diviner is to settle in for Russell Crowe's directorial debut. From the outside the story doesn't exactly inspire a "must see" attitude and, to be entirely honest, the film itself is passably mediocre. Not a great time at the movies, not a bad time, but simply a time. Crowe seems to be experimenting at times with his camerawork and a couple of curious zoom in close-ups caught me a little off-guard, but it's a good start with some of the editorial decisions seeming more defensive than anything else, attempting to ensure he had all his ducks in a row rather than getting too experimental with the overall final cut. On top of directing, Crowe also stars as the film's main character, Joshua Connor, an Australian farmer whose world is torn apart following the end of the Battle of Gallipoli. Four years after his three sons died in battle,...
- 4/22/2015
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Chicago – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new war drama “The Water Diviner” starring Russell Crowe (his directorial debut!) and Olga Kurylenko!
“The Water Diviner,” which opens on April 24, 2015 and is rated “R,” also stars Jai Courtney, Isabel Lucas, Megan Gale, Damon Herriman, Ryan Corr, Jacqueline McKenzie, Cem Yilmaz and Yilmaz Erdogan from director Russell Crowe and writers Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios! Note: You must be 17+ to win and attend this “R”-rated screening.
To win your free “The Water Diviner” passes courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our social media widget below. That’s it! This screening is on Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. The more social actions you complete, the more points you score and the higher yours odds of winning! Completing these social actions only increases your odds...
“The Water Diviner,” which opens on April 24, 2015 and is rated “R,” also stars Jai Courtney, Isabel Lucas, Megan Gale, Damon Herriman, Ryan Corr, Jacqueline McKenzie, Cem Yilmaz and Yilmaz Erdogan from director Russell Crowe and writers Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios! Note: You must be 17+ to win and attend this “R”-rated screening.
To win your free “The Water Diviner” passes courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our social media widget below. That’s it! This screening is on Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. The more social actions you complete, the more points you score and the higher yours odds of winning! Completing these social actions only increases your odds...
- 4/20/2015
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Wamg has your free passes to the advance screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ The Water Diviner.
Academy Award winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator) makes his directorial debut on The Water Diviner, an epic and inspiring tale of one man’s life-changing journey of discovery.
Crowe also stars in the film as Australian farmer Joshua Connor, who, in 1919, goes in search of his three missing sons, last known to have fought against the Turks in the bloody Battle of Gallipoli. Arriving in Istanbul, he is thrust into a vastly different world, where he encounters others who have suffered their own losses in the conflict: Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko), a strikingly beautiful but guarded hotelier raising a child alone; her young, spirited son, Orhan (Dylan Georgiades), who finds a friend in Connor; and Major Hasan (Yilmaz Erdoğan), a Turkish officer who fought against Connor’s boys and who may be this father’s only hope.
Academy Award winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator) makes his directorial debut on The Water Diviner, an epic and inspiring tale of one man’s life-changing journey of discovery.
Crowe also stars in the film as Australian farmer Joshua Connor, who, in 1919, goes in search of his three missing sons, last known to have fought against the Turks in the bloody Battle of Gallipoli. Arriving in Istanbul, he is thrust into a vastly different world, where he encounters others who have suffered their own losses in the conflict: Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko), a strikingly beautiful but guarded hotelier raising a child alone; her young, spirited son, Orhan (Dylan Georgiades), who finds a friend in Connor; and Major Hasan (Yilmaz Erdoğan), a Turkish officer who fought against Connor’s boys and who may be this father’s only hope.
- 4/13/2015
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
When director Crowe sticks to historical adventure, his film is tense and exciting. But it lacks a sense of magic that it needs to make it fully engaging. I’m “biast” (pro): love Russell Crowe
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
I have not read the source material
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
In 1919, four years after the disastrous Australian defeat at the Wwi battle of Gallipoli, a father travels to the Ottoman Empire hoping to find his lost sons. It’s sorta like Saving Private Ryan, except the soldiers to be found are dead, and the stack of needles farmer Connor (Russell Crowe: Noah, Winter’s Tale) has to search for his needles is the battle-scarred landscape upon which are scattered the long-dead bones of the 10,000 Australians — and 70,000 Turks — who were killed there.
How does Connor propose to accomplish such an impossible task?...
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
I have not read the source material
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
In 1919, four years after the disastrous Australian defeat at the Wwi battle of Gallipoli, a father travels to the Ottoman Empire hoping to find his lost sons. It’s sorta like Saving Private Ryan, except the soldiers to be found are dead, and the stack of needles farmer Connor (Russell Crowe: Noah, Winter’s Tale) has to search for his needles is the battle-scarred landscape upon which are scattered the long-dead bones of the 10,000 Australians — and 70,000 Turks — who were killed there.
How does Connor propose to accomplish such an impossible task?...
- 4/8/2015
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Director: Russell Crowe; Screenwriters: Andrew Knight, Andrew Anastasios; Starring: Russell Crowe, Jai Courtney, Olga Kurylenko, Isabel Lucas; Running time: 111 mins; Certificate: 15
Coinciding with the centenary of the Battle of the Gallipoli, where 8,709 Australians were killed during the First World War, The Water Diviner comes as a reminder that this was a tragedy on both sides. Russell Crowe boldly chooses this subject to make his feature directorial debut - picking up where Peter Weir left off with Gallipoli (1981) - and also stars as a father looking for his sons' remains after the guns are laid down in Turkey. His case isn't watertight, but he angles for tear-jerking drama and delivers.
Realism takes second place to mysticism and the foreword, claiming this story to be based on real events, is a leap given that the writers were inspired by just a single line in a letter penned by Lt-Colonel Cyril Hughes (here...
Coinciding with the centenary of the Battle of the Gallipoli, where 8,709 Australians were killed during the First World War, The Water Diviner comes as a reminder that this was a tragedy on both sides. Russell Crowe boldly chooses this subject to make his feature directorial debut - picking up where Peter Weir left off with Gallipoli (1981) - and also stars as a father looking for his sons' remains after the guns are laid down in Turkey. His case isn't watertight, but he angles for tear-jerking drama and delivers.
Realism takes second place to mysticism and the foreword, claiming this story to be based on real events, is a leap given that the writers were inspired by just a single line in a letter penned by Lt-Colonel Cyril Hughes (here...
- 4/2/2015
- Digital Spy
Warner Bros. recently acquired Russell Crowe's directorial debut The Water Diviner, the story of an Australian man (Crowe) who travels to Turkey after the Battle of Gallipoli to try and locate his three missing sons. Today the studio has released the first trailer for the movie, which will be getting a limited release on April 24. Joining Crowe are Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Ryan Corr, James Fraser, Ben O'Toole, Jacqueline McKenzie and Isabel Lucas. You can check out the trailer as well as a much more detailed synopsis below. sb id="1456535" height="360" width="640" Academy Award winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator) makes his directorial debut on The Water Diviner, an epic and inspiring tale of one man's life-changing journey of discovery. Crowe also stars in the film as Australian farmer Joshua Connor, who, in 1919, goes in search of his three missing sons, last known to have fought against...
- 2/13/2015
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
After paying in the actor's homeland last winter, Russell Crowe is bringing his directorial debut The Water Diviner to theaters in the United States this spring, and the first trailer for the domestic release has just arrived. Crowe also takes the lead in the period drama as Australian farmer Joshua Connor, who, in 1919, goes in search of his three missing sons, last known to have fought against the Turks in the bloody Battle of Gallipoli. On his journey he encounters many who have come into contact with his sons, played by the likes of Olga Kurylenko and Dylan Georgiades, all who have suffered losses of their own. Watch! Here's the Us Trailer for Russell Crowe's The Water Diviner, originally from Apple: You can still watch the previous Australian trailer for The Water Diviner right here. The Water Diviner is directed by Russell Crowe (star of Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind,...
- 2/13/2015
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
Warner Bros. has unveiled an all-new trailer for Russell Crowe’s passion project and directorial debut, The Water Diviner.
Set during the fallout of World War I, the Australian drama stars Crowe himself as Joshua Connor, a grieving father who sets forth to Turkey in order to locate the whereabouts of his three missing sons, who were last known to have fought within the infamous Gallipoli campaign of 1915. Taking place on the Gallipoli peninsula, the battle is widely considered to be one of the most defining moment in Turkish history.
But for Crowe’s protagonist, the conflict will underpin a much more personal, emotionally harrowing journey, as the footage above attests. Joining the Oscar-winner for the genre epic are Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Steve Bastoni, Isabel Lucas, Ryan Corr, Dan Wyllie, Damon Herriman, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Dorman, Megan Gale, and Dylan Georgiades.
Crowe’s directorial debut...
Set during the fallout of World War I, the Australian drama stars Crowe himself as Joshua Connor, a grieving father who sets forth to Turkey in order to locate the whereabouts of his three missing sons, who were last known to have fought within the infamous Gallipoli campaign of 1915. Taking place on the Gallipoli peninsula, the battle is widely considered to be one of the most defining moment in Turkish history.
But for Crowe’s protagonist, the conflict will underpin a much more personal, emotionally harrowing journey, as the footage above attests. Joining the Oscar-winner for the genre epic are Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Steve Bastoni, Isabel Lucas, Ryan Corr, Dan Wyllie, Damon Herriman, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Dorman, Megan Gale, and Dylan Georgiades.
Crowe’s directorial debut...
- 2/13/2015
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
For the second consecutive year, Warner Bros. Pictures International has exceeded the coveted $3 billion mark at the international box office. This benchmark comes on the heels of the release of The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, which surpassed $400 million at the international box office this weekend and is still going strong.
Nine Warner Bros. Pictures films have exceeded $100 million internationally, topped by Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (with Paramount Pictures), which has taken in an astounding $467 million outside of the U.S. to date, and Godzilla (with Legendary Pictures), which has earned $327 million overseas.
Four titles – Doug Liman’s Edge Of Tomorrow (with Village Roadshow Pictures), Phil Lord & Christopher Miller’s The Lego Movie (also with Village Roadshow Pictures), and Noam Murro and Zack Snyder’s 300: Rise Of An Empire (with Legendary), along with the 2014 spillover grosses from The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug...
Nine Warner Bros. Pictures films have exceeded $100 million internationally, topped by Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (with Paramount Pictures), which has taken in an astounding $467 million outside of the U.S. to date, and Godzilla (with Legendary Pictures), which has earned $327 million overseas.
Four titles – Doug Liman’s Edge Of Tomorrow (with Village Roadshow Pictures), Phil Lord & Christopher Miller’s The Lego Movie (also with Village Roadshow Pictures), and Noam Murro and Zack Snyder’s 300: Rise Of An Empire (with Legendary), along with the 2014 spillover grosses from The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug...
- 12/30/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Russell Crowe has worked with some of the best filmmakers in the world, and now he's taken all of that vast knowledge unto his directorial debut, The Water Diviner. The first trailer for the film has hit the web. Watch it below.
Set in the aftermath of WWII, The Water Diviner follows an Australian farmer, played by Crowe, on his journey to Turkey four years after the war. His mission is to track down the bodies of his three sons who were killed there during the Battle of Gallipoli.
The film also features Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Steve Bastoni, Isabel Lucas, Ryan Corr, Dan Wyllie, Damon Herriman, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Dorman, Megan Gale, and Dylan Georgiades.
Though the pic hasn't garnered a lot of buzz yet, the feedback (thus far) has been positive. The first trailer has too many spoilers, so you might want to be careful while watching it.
Set in the aftermath of WWII, The Water Diviner follows an Australian farmer, played by Crowe, on his journey to Turkey four years after the war. His mission is to track down the bodies of his three sons who were killed there during the Battle of Gallipoli.
The film also features Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Steve Bastoni, Isabel Lucas, Ryan Corr, Dan Wyllie, Damon Herriman, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Dorman, Megan Gale, and Dylan Georgiades.
Though the pic hasn't garnered a lot of buzz yet, the feedback (thus far) has been positive. The first trailer has too many spoilers, so you might want to be careful while watching it.
- 10/1/2014
- by Laura Frances
- LRMonline.com
The first trailer for Russell Crowe’s directorial debut, The Water Diviner, has landed online. Set in the aftermath of WWII, the film has already garnered positive early reviews and looks quite promising.
Starring Crowe in the lead role as an Australian farmer, the story follows his journey to Turkey four years after the war. His mission is to track down the bodies of his three sons who were killed there during the Battle of Gallipoli.
The actor has enlisted a slew of rising talent to supporting his character’s journey into the emotional abyss. Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Steve Bastoni, Isabel Lucas, Ryan Corr, Dan Wyllie, Damon Herriman, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Dorman, Megan Gale, and Dylan Georgiades all appear in what’s so far been a relatively low-key flick.
The first trailer sets up the backstory, with Crowe’s voiceover narrating a tale as he...
Starring Crowe in the lead role as an Australian farmer, the story follows his journey to Turkey four years after the war. His mission is to track down the bodies of his three sons who were killed there during the Battle of Gallipoli.
The actor has enlisted a slew of rising talent to supporting his character’s journey into the emotional abyss. Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Steve Bastoni, Isabel Lucas, Ryan Corr, Dan Wyllie, Damon Herriman, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Dorman, Megan Gale, and Dylan Georgiades all appear in what’s so far been a relatively low-key flick.
The first trailer sets up the backstory, with Crowe’s voiceover narrating a tale as he...
- 9/30/2014
- by Gem Seddon
- We Got This Covered
Sneak Peek extended footage from first-time director Russell Crowe, on the set of his new film "The Water Diviner", also starring Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Steve Bastoni, Isabel Lucas, Ryan Corr, Dan Wyllie, Damon Herriman, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Dorman, Megan Gale and Dylan Georgiades :
"...the film is set four years after the devastating battle of 'Gallipoli' in Turkey during World War I, as Australian farmer 'Connor' (Crowe) travels to Istanbul to discover the fate of his sons, reported missing in action, where he forges a relationship with the beautiful Turkish woman (Kurylenko) who owns the hotel in which he stays.
"Holding on to hope, and with the help of a Turkish officer, Connor embarks on a journey across the country to find the truth about the fate of his sons..."
Click the images to enlarger and Sneak Peek "The Water Diviner"...
"...the film is set four years after the devastating battle of 'Gallipoli' in Turkey during World War I, as Australian farmer 'Connor' (Crowe) travels to Istanbul to discover the fate of his sons, reported missing in action, where he forges a relationship with the beautiful Turkish woman (Kurylenko) who owns the hotel in which he stays.
"Holding on to hope, and with the help of a Turkish officer, Connor embarks on a journey across the country to find the truth about the fate of his sons..."
Click the images to enlarger and Sneak Peek "The Water Diviner"...
- 4/28/2014
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Did you know that Russell Crowe (star of Noah) is currently directing his first film? Shooting is already underway, and Crowe is starring and directing the film about an Australian man who travels to Turkey after the Battle of Gallipoli to try and locate his three missing sons. It's titled The Water Diviner and the first official still arrived recently. They're currently shooting in Australia before going to Turkey, and this looks like an early moment with one of his sons. The supporting cast includes Turkish actors Yilmaz Erdogan (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia) and Cem Yilmaz (Hokkabaz), Oz actors Jai Courtney, Steve Bastoni, Isabel Lucas, Ryan Corr, Michael Dorman, plus Dylan Georgiades. It's a very nice first look, caught my attention. Here's the first official still from Russell Crowe's new film The Water Diviner, originally via Variety: The Water Diviner, being directed by Russell Crowe from a...
- 2/3/2014
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
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