A very commendable directorial debut

Rating: Null/10 (4 April 2015)

Since Russell Crowe came to the attention of cinema-goers worldwide in "L. A. Confidential" (1997), he has starred in some 25 films and given a series of terrific performances - most notably in "Gladiator" - but this is the first film that he has directed. He also takes the lead role as Australian rancher Joshua Connor, who loses three sons in the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915, so this is clearly a very personal movie for Crowe as well as for Australians generally in the centenary year after the conflict (director Peter Weir covered the battle more directly in his 1981 work "Gallipoli").
What makes Crowe's film interesting is that he treats sympathetically the viewpoint of the defending Ottoman Turks underlining their losses as well as those of the ANZAC troops (65,000 Turks dead and 46,000 Allies dead including 7,600 Australians), depicting the rise of Turkish nationalism and resistance against Greek invaders, and providing serious roles for Turkish actors. The battle scenes are well done and the cinematography is excellent.
What weakens the work rather is a degree of sentimentality, partly around the powers of divining but more especially around the relationship between the Ozzie farmer and a local woman played by former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko. Also the one British character depicted has an appalling accent and is unfairly stereotypical. But overall this is a very commendable directorial debut by Crowe and augers well for his future career.