Despite graphic battle scenes, Russell Crowe’s sons will accompany him to The Water Diviner premiere

CHILDREN should not be spared from the brutal truths of war, says Russell Crowe, ahead of the world premiere of his film The Water Diviner.

CHILDREN should not be spared from the brutal truths of war, according to Russell Crowe, who is taking his two young sons to the world premiere of his directorial debut in Sydney on Tuesday night.

The Water Diviner, which tells the story of a father (Crowe) who travels to Gallipoli after the war to properly bury his three sons, includes a number of graphic battlefield flashbacks.

“It’s definitely a film that you take your kids to,” said Crowe, who won a Best Actor Oscar for his performance in 2000 film Gladiator, on Monday.

“Yeah, it’s heavy. Grief is going to be emotionally heavy. But sex wise there is no nudity and there is no swearing.

“So you have got the space within that to allow them to learn something a little bit.”

Crowe’s youngest son, eight-year-old Tennyson, has already had a private viewing of the film, which stars former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko, Jai Courtney(Terminator: Genisys), Ryan Corr, Jacqueline McKenzie and Turkish actor Yılmaz Erdoğan, all of whom are scheduled to attend Tuesday night’s State Theatre premiere.

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“You might think it’s a tough lesson but he had a very romantic view point about war,’’ says Crowe, who describes The Water Diviner as “unashamedly anti-war”.

On Tuesday night, Tennyson will see the film again, this time accompanied by brother Charles, who has only seen excerpts.

“So often, we romanticise what things mean. We take big words like sacrifice and we have no real detail,’’ says Crowe.

“There’s a moment in the film where the two brothers are lying in the battlefield. The camera descends down to where they are and you can hear hundreds of voices in that no man’s land between the two trenches calling out for their mother, for water, for God.

“That’s the reality.”

After screening the film in Melbourne on Wednesday night in another red-carpet premiere, Crowe and Kurylenko, who plays a Turkish widow, and Erdogan will travel to Turkey to introduce the film there.

Battle weary ... Crowe’s character Joshua Connor joins forces with former Turkish soldiers. Picture: Supplied.

On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the battle of Gallipoli, Crowe felt it was important to canvas both sides of the story.

“To me the level of respect the Turkish have shown us far outweighs what we have reciprocated with,’’ he said.

“Our boys still lie in their soil, in marked graves, in an area that they have decided is a national park.”

“It’s definitely a film that you take your kids to” ... Russell Crowe, pictured as Joshua Connor in a scene from The Water Diviner.

For Crowe, it’s important to redress the imbalance, even in small ways.

“Small things can have great resonance. We should be teaching our children that when we say Gallipoli, the Turks say Canakkale, for instance.

“Those two words should be completely connected. It’s not a big thing but it’s the beginning of a reciprocation of respect.”

PICTURES: The Water Diviner — Behind the Scenes

Originally published as Despite graphic battle scenes, Russell Crowe’s sons will accompany him to The Water Diviner premiere