A bit of a slow pace at times, but generally a well made and affecting war drama

Rating: 7/10 (8 August 2015)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
In 1915, after the end of the Battle of Galipoli, World War One is drawing to a close. Connor (Russell Crowe), a simple farmer who lives in the out backs of Victoria, Australia, is missing two sons who went off to fight in the war. Following his wife's suicide, he travels to Turkey to begin the search for his missing boys, and finds lodgings with the beautiful Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko) and her son. He also finds himself scouring the fields with Major Hasan (Yilmaz Erdogan), the army commander who lead the army Connor's sons were fighting against, who's now trying to build diplomatic relations with the opposing forces. As he draws nearer to the truth, Connor must brace himself for a devastating reality.
In the year the world observed the hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War, Russell Crowe picked a timely moment to unveil his directing debut to the world. He'd spoken about it for many years, and there'd been hints it would be coming here and there, but finally this drama set against the backdrop of the war is finally here. Rather than set it on the battlefront, Crowe has chosen to highlight the raw human drama that unfolded behind the scenes and was comparatively ignored, that of all the soldiers in the various regiments, companies and divisions who were unaccounted for and in many cases, never found.
It seems to incorporate many tones as it goes along, mixing together a lot of haunting atmosphere, light humour, raw human drama and historical narrative pretty much all at the same time. While all of this is very affecting, a lot of the time the pace is a little too slow and has a bit too much of a Sunday afternoon vibe to it, creating a bit of a dull feel. A shame, since the themes it's exploring couldn't be any less toned down, including heartbreak, forgiveness, redemption and hope. It beats with the heart of a lion, but flows with the blood of a sheep, a film with solid themes but the execution of a telly drama, but which still manages to stir and engage.
If you only get one chance to make a first impression, Crowe has demonstrated a generally firm and adept approach to film-making, with a stirring story and tonnes of ambition, but one which maybe just needs to move with a little more fire and flare in it's heart. ***