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.

Russell Crowe made his directorial debut in this heartfelt drama.

Crowe plays Joshua Connor, a farmer and water diviner. A father grieving the loss of his three sons in the battlefield of Gallipoli in World War One, he also subsequently loses his wife.

Connor goes off to Turkey to locate his son's bodies and bring them back to Australia. The British soldiers will not allow Connor to visit the battlefield. However Major Hasan who commanded the Turkish troops and now aiding the locating of missing soldiers helps Connor.

It is a story of a damaged man rediscovering his humanity and something more. Hasan is the former enemy who is more helpful than he needs to be. Turkey is a country at a crossroad in its history facing a post war nationalist uprising led by Ataturk.

Connor also befriends a boy and starts a relationship with his widowed mother Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko) who operates the hotel at Istanbul he is staying in. Ayshe's brother in law is eyeing up marriage but Connor upsets his plans.

Crowe has directed a sensitive poignant drama with a touch of magical realism. It could easily been an overblown ridiculous melodrama which early on it shows signs off. Crowe pulls back and gives it some heart.

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.