"Because he's the only father who came looking."

Rating: 7/10 (13 May 2019)

The story has only a tenuous connection to the title of the movie. Russell Crowe's character, Joshua Connor, who used his divining ability to locate water wells on his farmland, somehow translates this ability to locating the remains of his three sons missing in battle at Gallipoli, Turkey in 1915 during World War I. I'm not sure if that was the best way to demonstrate his resolve in finding his sons, all presumed to have died during that campaign. The film could have been made without the 'water diviner' connection, as the presence of Major Hasan (Yilmaz Erdogan) was instrumental in locating the exact battlefield where the casualties took place. The mystical visions Connor experienced at the battle site, now a vast graveyard, were too conveniently effective to establish where his sons were buried, not to mention the overwhelming odds of finding the dog tags of two of the dead sons by his Aussie hosts.
What's effective in the film, as mentioned earlier, is Joshua Connor's resolve to locate his sons as a final promise granted to his wife. Her death is perhaps meant to be purposely ambiguous, as it's called an accident by Joshua, though my thoughts immediately went to suicide in despondency over the family she lost. Which would only be exacerbated if her husband were not to return from his dauntless task. The story also effectively demonstrates how former enemies, Turks and Aussies, could set aside their differences from the war to pay respects to the fallen at Gallipoli. In particular, Joshua, who was not a soldier, was able to suppress his initial hatred for Major Hasan to eventually prove himself a valuable ally.
The hint of a potential romance between Joshua and the Turkish hotel owner Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko) wasn't as distracting from the principal story as it might have been. Again, initial impressions served to foster a dislike for each other, with the presence of Ayshe's son (Dylan Georgiades) a mitigating factor. The film doesn't seek closure on their relationship, though one can probably read between the lines well enough. Joshua's discovery of his remaining son (Ryan Corr) who survived the Battle of Gallipoli was handled with some suspension of disbelief, while his confession of battle field circumstances regarding the death of brother Ed the most heart wrenching aspect of the movie.