Movie Review: The Water Diviner (2014) *Spoiler free*

Movie Review: The Water Diviner (2014) Spoiler free

Russell Crowe's The Water Diviner is the kind of Australian story that it would be nice to see more of. Not necessarily more historic war stories but more stories that are uniquely Australian without going over the top with Australian-isms.

Case in point, there is a bit of obligatory Aussie slang in the film but it's not over the top and it's not coming out of every Australian character's mouth. I think international audiences could enjoy this film as is without getting confused by the slang.

Apparently there was some controversy surrounding this film, as it looks at a legendary moment in Australian/New Zealand, first world war history (the Battle of Gallipoli) and sympathizes some what with the opposing army, highlighting that despite our casualties, they actually lost a greater number of soldiers in the battle.

Personally I didn't have any issue with this. I like the fact that this film looks at the Turkish side of the battle and does explore some of the prejudices felt by Australian and Turkish soldiers borne out of their experiences in battle.

Anyhow... the film follows Connor (Russell Crowe) across the globe to Turkey, on a search for his three missing sons four years after the battle of Gallipoli. For him, it's a very eye opening journey with some unexpected allies.

Given the material, this isn't really a film that I'd say I enjoyed but I didn't dislike it either. 'Enjoy' is just the wrong word. I found Connor's journey just as eye opening, interesting and engaging as it was for the character.

For the most part it's a very understated journey but it always seemed to be moving forward with something going on to keep you invested in the story.

My only disappointment was that Jacqueline McKenzie didn't have a bigger role in the film (I'm a long time fan of hers). Given that I never knew she had a role in the film in the first place it was a bonus to see her name come up in the opening credits. She's great in the small but important role of Connor's wife.

I do question that Connor's intuition seemed a little too good at times. At one point in the film he is flat out asked about it and he completely ignores the question. I get that there is some parallels being drawn here with Connor's skills as a water diviner transferring into his search skills to find his boys but at a couple of critical times it seems a little too convenient that he just knows he's found what he's looking for.

Beyond that though, it is a very good film. Russell Crowe's direction has produced a very watchable and grown up film that is very much about the journey but does reach a satisfying conclusion.

I'd highly recommend it. You may even learn something about the first World War that you didn't know. I certainly did.

Comments

Guest Post: MY SOOPER DOOPER NEW CONSERVATORY/ART STUDIO!

Jo's new Art Studio/Conservatory. Today's guest post is by Artist, Writer, and Mental Health Advocate, Jo B Creative who writes for her blog, Creating My Oddessey . Y ou should see our (almost) brand new conservatory, half of which is my art studio. 'Lucky me!' I think to myself. Not every creative bod can boast that. It's HUGE! Like a giant greenhouse. We first moved to our pleasant cul-de-sac house - great for raising kids - when our son, who's on the cusp of thirty-one, was four. One of the main reasons that we wanted it was that, apart from its location on the fringes of a historic market town in rural Hampshire, UK, it had a sizable conservatory looking onto the back garden. It was brown wood framed and had a corrugated transparent roof sloping down from downstairs ceiling height. On the face of it, it doesn't sound that glamourous, but we loved the idea of a conservatory. Luxury! I even liked the red brick walls which it was built against -

The Star Wars Saga: Episode II, Attack of the Clones All Spoilers

Continuing my series of posts, as one of my local TV stations shows every Star Wars movie in order, every Saturday, for the next six weeks leading up to the release of Star Wars, Episode VII, The Force Awakens , here is my response to and thoughts on Star Wars, Episode II, Attack of the Clones . After The Phantom Menace I just wasn't interested in seeing Episode II in the cinema. I don't think I made any effort to see it or even had any anticipation for it's release.

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

Kids today are smarter than their parents?

How often have you heard it said that kids today are smarter than their parents? I’ve heard it quite frequently in the media – even Dr Phil has said it. I say speak for your self. It’s not true and don’t let the media fool you. Today’s kids may have access to more information that may give them more choices but in my experience, they only take in what they want to hear and still make stupid, uninformed decisions. Just like we used to at their age. Like any cross section of people there will be exceptions. There are kids that are genuinely smarter, more mature and responsible for their age. However the vast majority know everything they need to know by the time they turn fourteen. They’re ‘adult’ enough to be responsible for all their own decision making so parents should just let them do what they please…right? Just like we thought at fourteen. Don’t be fooled. Just because your son knows how to download MP3’s onto an ipod, or your daughter can chat to five friends at the same time

Boom Crash Opera Born Classic But Not Again

Boom Crash Opera are an Australian Band that reached the peak of their popularity in the mid to late nineteen eighties. They are a band that I knew about at that time but was never really excited by until they released their ill fated double album Born and Born Again in 1995 (Album cover pictured). At the time of its release I was very much into emerging Australian musical acts and was also looking out for new sounds that were different and had kind of a futuristic/electronic sound. Artists that I was buying at the time included; Swoop , Nine Inch Nails and Pop Will Eat Its Self . As well as a really interesting release by David Bowie, the concept album, Outside . Born was a fairly radical departure for Boom Crash Opera (BCO). The first single, Gimme , was often compared to the sounds of Gary Glitter, particularly his single, Rock n Roll part 2 , because of the pounding drum loops. Watch the video below. My favorite single from the album is dissemble which probably went now

Cy Twombly. Art you can love...or not?

The lawyer for the plaintiffs, Agnes Tricoire, presents to the court a reproduction of the kiss mark on a painting by artist American Cy Twombly. Photo: MSNBC In researching this post I'm happy to say that American artist, Cy Twombly's all white artwork, 'Untitled', is an exception to his art rather than the norm. Perhaps that is why the artwork is valued at just over 2.8 million dollars and lays some credibility on my rationale in pricing my own blank canvas in my video guide to Pricing your artwork for sale . Regular readers will know my distaste for blank canvas artworks so I could not pass up this opportunity to comment on Rindy Sam, a 30 year old, female French artist, who loved Twombly's blank artwork enough to kiss it with fully, lipstick loaded, lips. The incident happened on July 19, 2007, where the painting was part of a traveling exhibition on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art in the southern French city of Avignon. The kiss was described as an

"You are the Generation that bought more shoes..."

"You are the generation that bought more shoes, you get what you deserve." This quote is a song lyric that I heard on the radio (my apologies to the writer and artist that it belongs too because I don't know who either of you are). It's a great line and I can only assume it refers to the apparent lack of interest today's eighteen to twenty somethings appear to have in more serious and deeper issues. Not that I'm trying to hold myself up as someone who campaigns strongly for the greater good of human kind or that I spend significant amounts of time raising awareness of important issues. I'm certainly not a poster boy for changing the attitudes of people with too many shoes but lyrics like that do make you think. It's at this point that I really don't know where to go with this article. Should I focus on the material nature of modern society and its obsession with having more stuff? Or should I mention a few important issues, like Human Rights Abus

TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

Search This Blog