The Water Diviner

Name: The Water Diviner
Genre: Drama, War
Released: April 24, 2015
Duration: 111 min
Rating: 50
Cast: Isabel Lucas, Jai Courtney, Olga Kurylenko, Russell Crowe

2015

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 77 Ratings

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6.8

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6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 77 Ratings

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The Water Diviner

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Movie Details & Credits

Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: April 24, 2015 | R

Starring: Isabel Lucas, Jai Courtney, Olga Kurylenko, Russell Crowe

Summary: In 1919, Australian farmer Joshua Connor (Russell Crowe) 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 (OlgaIn 1919, Australian farmer Joshua Connor (Russell Crowe) 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 Erdo?an), a Turkish officer who fought against Connor’s boys and who may be this father’s only hope. With seemingly insurmountable obstacles in his path, Connor must travel across the battle-scarred Turkish landscape to find the truth and his own peace.… Expand

Director: Russell Crowe

Genre(s): Drama, War

Rating: R

Runtime: 111 min

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Critic Reviews

Richard Roeper

Apr 23, 2015

A first-rate post-World War I drama with a heavy dose of sentiment and a gripping storyline. Read full review

Inkoo Kang

Apr 23, 2015

Crowe’s beauty-seeking, but exoticizing camera is slightly outmatched by his performance, which anchors the film with regret tinged with hope. But what continues to haunt after the credits finish rolling are the film’s explorations of the trauma of life after war: The brutally quick political shifts, the lingering shame of committing vicious and dishonorable acts, and the bitter knowledge that there’s no such thing as lasting peace. Read full review

Megan Lehmann

Dec 9, 2014

The film gives a lot of space to emotions, but Crowe reins in his outsized personality to contribute an affecting, understated performance and, as director, underplays the allegories, particularly the recurring water motif, so they seep through the narrative organically. Read full review

Peter Rainer

Apr 24, 2015

A sloggy, heartfelt piece of quasi-magical realist storytelling. Read full review

Brad Wheeler

Apr 23, 2015

But just as Anzac troops had quite a go of it in Gallipoli, Crowe (who also stars as the doggedly bereaved father and exceptional well-digger here) is in tough with critic-historians aghast at The Water Diviner’s pro-Turkish slant. Read full review

Nick Schager

Apr 23, 2015

Crowe's visual framing and dramatic staging are as assured as his compelling lead performance. Yet as his story becomes weighed down by issues of cross-cultural understanding, forgiveness, and second chances...the film comes to feel like a slight, straightforward tale distended to tedious lengths. Read full review

Andrew O'Hehir

Apr 23, 2015

I have to assume that Russell Crowe and Warner Bros. did not deliberately set out to insult and anger the Armenian diaspora and its friends around the world, or to participate in covering up a monumental 20th-century crime that shaped the world we live in and remains swathed in too much historical shadow. They disgraced themselves by making this movie the way they did, and then redoubled the disgrace by releasing it this week. Read full review

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User Reviews

Jonathan12345

Jan 24, 2020

Masterpiece of Russell Crowe. Movie is very realistic to history. It is very well directed.