Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

jarth_5 One cannot watch this movie without experiencing mixed emotions.This is a well-meaning and earnest film which flaws are the consequence of poorly considered and unbalanced writing and character construction, as well as somewhat simplistic stereotypes.it is not an issue that only 3 women feature in substantial roles in the film; my issue is the positioning of these women. The first is Connor's wife, the mother of his sons, and crucial to the motivation of the plot; we can't expect much of her, given that all we need to know is that the loss of her children understandably induces the loss of her sanity. It is tragic but brief; She rarely features even in flashbacks. The second, Olga Kurylenko's character, is a strong-willed but socially subjugated widow obsessed with her MIA husband; the entirety of her screen time is expended either discussing her missing spouse, the pressure to marry her brother- in-law, her obligations to her son and flirting with Connor; while her character contributes to the story by providing a window into Ottoman Turkish household culture, she really is little more than a love interest for Russel Crowe; the third character is the inn's resident Circassian prostitute - need i say more. It possibly sounds worse than it is. While the female characters are far from purely objectified, they seem to provide little more than support to an otherwise predominantly male film. While failing the Bechdel test, it still manages to be sensitive and relatively respectful, at least at a tertiary level.like almost all Australian films that feature British characters, practically every Briton in this film is a cartoon-like, two-dimensional stereotype; the most prominent of which is of course the absolute favourite of Aussie filmmakers: the stuffy, pompous, and insensitive martinet army officer. The only broadly sympathetic British character is a junior naval officer about the right age for a midshipman, but who is bizarrely addressed as a lieutenant, which is very weird. Perhaps predictably for an Australian film about Gallipoli, the real enemy is the Pommie. This adds a two-dimensional and callow aspect to a story which attempts to address a particularly complex period of history; there is absolutely no consideration for depth in relation to any of the British characters whatsoever. -the treatment of the Turkish characters, and Turkish history in this period, is probably the biggest issue,with this film. Australian historiography relating to the Turks at Gallipoli tends towards the respectful and the positive, which may explain the political position of the film, and which by itself is not a problem; but it is the treatment of the Turkish political position in the post-war period that becomes galling; without exception, the Turks are portrayed as the innocent victims of foreign imperialism and aggression; simple, decent and patriotic; every Turkish soldier, for example, is noble and honourable. They are shown as the victim of atrocities committed by the invading Greeks, who feature only sufficiently to identify them as bloodthirsty and murderous monsters bent on genocide and rapine; no mention whatsoever is made of Turkish atrocities against the Greeks, or the Armenians, or anyone else. I don't mean to detract from the quantity of undoubtedly upstanding and decent Turkish men who served their country at this time, but neither do i think that this film's portrayal represents anything like a well- rounded perspective of the period. As a comparison, it would literally be impossible to find a contemporary German film about ww2 which did not feature at least one Character who was a Nazi.For all its faults, it still manages to project a sense of charm, even while featuring anything as dubious as water-divining. The photography is generally appropriately attractive, the scenery is often enchanting, and the standard of acting is relatively high. The Turkish landscape is wonderfully showcased and the Turkish actors are all competent if not outstanding. If Crowe intends a transition into directing, then this is a strong, albeit flawed, starting point.

jhsteel I didn't know what to expect from this film, and the subject seemed depressing: a father goes searching for his dead sons in Turkey. However, it was gripping, involving, full of 3- dimensional characters and depths of meaning. The cultural authenticity looked impressive to me, although I as no expert.. All I knew prior to this film was that the Dardanelles campaign in WW1 cost many Anzac lives and was regarded as a disaster. For Russell Crowe's family it was the loss of 3 sons, and all that the father could do was go to where they died to find them.The story builds to a gripping climax and the ending was completely unexpected. I was very impressed, having always been a Russell Crowe fan, with his ability to direct and produce something so meaningful and historically informative, while at the same time giving us a story so moving and ultimately rewarding. Very glad I made the effort to see this.

areatw 'The Water Diviner' is a good movie with many positives aspects - the plot has depth, it is well acted out and Russell Crowe did a reasonably good job as director. You do, however, have to be patient and make an effort to stick with this movie because, in parts, it's very slow.I also wasn't keen on the many flashbacks/flashforwards which didn't really add anything to the movie and just made the storyline harder to follow. There's nothing wrong with the plot itself but I felt it could have been executed better on screen.Overall though I thought 'The Water Diviner' was a good movie with a plot with enough depth to keep it interesting.

aidancfries I don't care how real or unreal this movie is, no one should have to kill their own brother. This movie was starting to bore me until I saw this scene, then the movie took a complete turn and stirred up all the emotion I felt throughout the film that had started to go away. Even though there are scenes with no dialogue that 100% need dialogue to make them great scenes, this movie stirred in me emotion that I've never felt before and don't expect to feel soon again. Russell Crowe does a great job with his acting. He makes himself just emotional enough to feel real, not indulging nor cutting himself short. The Water Diviner really makes you think about what's important in life.