Russell Crowe’s The Water Diviner may just be the movie to pull Aussie cinema out of its malaise

RUSSELL Crowe stars, directs, and puts his heart and soul into The Water Diviner. So how does he go? Leigh Paatsch has the lowdown.

IN what are currently the toughest times for Australian cinema in decades, it is going to take one tough homegrown movie to connect with the Australian public.

The Water Diviner just might be that movie.

If it was footwear, this poignant, yet uplifting ANZAC drama would be the best pair of work boots a bloke could ever own: comfortable enough to slip into with ease, but durable enough to never fall apart no matter how adverse the terrain.

Inspired by true events — albeit in a most roundabout way — The Water Diviner is very much a passion project for Russell Crowe.

The Oscar-winning actor assuredly takes charge of proceedings both before and (in making his long-threatened directorial debut) behind the cameras.

Though the story told here is intrinsically linked to our nation’s enduring remembrance of those who fell with honour in Turkey during World War I, it is hardly a conventional reading of the Gallipoli experience.

Homegrown hero ... Lt Col Hughes, played by Australian star Jai Courtney, in The Water Diviner

This factor alone will be sure to make The Water Diviner the subject of much debate when it opens in local cinemas later this month.

However, in its best stretches, Crowe’s film undoubtedly fosters a fresh appreciation of what soldiers on both sides went through during (and indeed, after) that hellish conflict.

The bulk of The Water Diviner takes place in the years immediately following the cessation of hostilities in The Great War.

Crowe plays Joshua Connor, an Australian farmer still mourning the tragic loss of all three of his soldier sons on the same fateful night at Gallipoli in August 1915.

With the whereabouts of their remains still classified as unknown in late 1919, Connor decides to honour the wishes of his recently deceased wife.

This literal man on a mission travels alone to Turkey and makes tracks for the killing fields of Gallipoli, in the single-minded belief “my boys should be buried at home, beside their mother.”

Training day ... Russell Crowe both starred in and directed The Water Diviner.

With the British military still controlling the Gallipoli site as a prohibited forensic zone, Connor is brusquely informed upon arrival in Istanbul he will not be given clearance for his search.

Of course, there would not be a movie here if Connor simply took no for an answer. So with the aid of some unlikely local allies, Connor pushes on with his quest for closure on his own soulfully stubborn terms.

The most interesting and challenging aspect of The Water Diviner is the sincere effort it makes to explain and explore the unusual state of play on the ground in Turkey after World War I.

Internal and external political turmoil is pulling the country apart throughout Connor’s odyssey, meaning in some ways (most notably involving Turkey’s clash with neighbouring Greece over the disputed region of Anatolia) he is often navigating his own path through a whole new war.

Some pundits will feel The Water Diviner is often out of its depth maintaining such a complex storyline.

Bond girl ... Olga Kurylenko, best known for playing a Bond girl opposite Daniel Craig, helps lighten the load in The Water Diviner.

However, Crowe — who obviously feels a strong connection to this tale — balances all ambitious demands made on the viewer with plenty of broadly accessible material that will resonate with all tastes.

The tender bond that Connor forms with a Turkish war widow (played by Olga Kurylenko) and her young son lightens the load in a pleasing, yet relevant manner.

Meanwhile, a number of incredibly well-shot combat sequences set in the trenches of Gallipoli drive home the dire consequences of war with great intensity and soulful insight.

To be honest, The Water Diviner is by no means perfect. There are occasions where it does lose focus (such as the ungainly scene where Connor saves some Turks from certain death by whacking the Greek enemy with a cricket bat!) before gradually regaining its composure.

However, the steely intent of Crowe as both actor and director — together with the vividly atmospheric cinematography of Andrew Lesnie — generally guarantees The Water Diviner locates the right depth of emotion at the right time.

The Water Diviner

Director: Russell Crowe

Stars: Russell Crowe, Jai Courtney, Olga Kurylenko, Ryan Corr, Jacqueline McKenzie

Opens Boxing Day

3.5 stars

Originally published as Russell Crowe’s The Water Diviner may just be the movie to pull Aussie cinema out of its malaise