Are you a serious film-goer?

Rating: 8/10 (4 January 2016)

I have never particularly been a fan of Russell Crowe, although once in a while he has starred in films where he has impressed me (e.g., "Gladiator", "A Beautiful Mind"). But with this film, in my view, Crowe has crossed over into something more than just a good actor...now he is a fine director. I am guessing that Russell Crowe sees this film as his masterpiece. And rightfully so.
That is not to say that this is a perfect film. First of all, it failed at the box office, and the reason is that it is a very complex film. To appreciate this film, you really need to be a serious film-watcher.
Second, Crowe has attempted to tackle a very difficult topic -- looking at the collision of two cultures, and unlike many films about two cultures, this is about two cultures that seemingly can never the twain meet. Although I knew very little about the Battle Of Gallipoli, with only a few battle scenes, the suffering of that conflagration is vividly depicted. Few films have shown the horror of war more successfully than does this one. There are a few scenes -- the railroad scene, for example -- that remind me just a bit of David Lean's work.
It would be fair to call this film epic in nature. The scope is broad, the various settings often stunning, and this is one of the few films I have ever seen where I felt the film should have been longer.
There are times that what we are seeing is confusing, particularly in regard to some of the cultural aspects of Turkey. That's where I feel that a few more minutes might have avoided some of the confusion as to what we are seeing.
I was truly impressed with the acting here,almost without exception. Crowe is superb; perhaps the best he has ever been...now that he is in middle age. Olga Kurylenko, a Ukranian actress, is excellent. Dylan Georgiades, an Australian child actor is as good as I've ever seen. Yılmaz Erdoğan, a Kurdish actor playing a general, is excellent, as well. Ryan Corr as the one son who lived is very good, although we don't see too much of him, even though he is actually the focus of the film.
Thank you, Mr. Crowe, for a very fine effort. A truly touching film.