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# MOVIE REVIEW: The Water Diviner (2014)
- URL: https://www.bensmovieguide.com/the-water-diviner-2014-review/
- Published: 2026-10-21T23:38:05.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-22T20:35:45.000Z
- Description: Russell Crowe plays an Australian father who travels to Turkey after World War I to find his three missing sons. The Water Diviner mixes grief, wartime history and adventure, with some uneven turns along the way.
- Author: Ben
- Tags: #title-only, #movie, Movie: The Water Diviner (2014), drama, war, 2010s, Rating: R, #Runtime: 111, #Rated For: war violence and some disturbing images, #Verdict: Rent, #Watch: Major Platforms, #Eyebrow: THREE SONS. ONE SEARCH.

When a war ends, the fighting stops. That doesn't mean the people left behind get to move on. If only it were that simple.

For Joshua Connor, it means three sons who went to Gallipoli and never came home. Four years later, he's done waiting—he's going to find them himself.

**What It’s About**

Russell Crowe plays Connor, an Australian farmer with an unusual talent for finding water underground. In 1919, he travels to Turkey hoping to locate the remains of his three sons, all missing after the Gallipoli campaign of World War I.

He wants to bring them home, but even getting access to the battlefield proves difficult. Apparently, finding water in the Australian outback is easier than getting permission to search a former battlefield.

An Australian officer (Jai Courtney) is helping recover bodies, and Turkish Major Hasan (Yılmaz Erdoğan) knows the terrain and what happened there. Connor needs their cooperation, even though the men involved fought on opposite sides.

He also meets Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko), a hotel owner in Istanbul whose family has been affected by the war. Their encounters give him a glimpse of a country still dealing with its own losses.

**Who It’s For**

Despite the title, this isn't really a movie about someone using a stick to find water. It's about grief, guilt and how far a parent will go for an answer. Crowe, who also directed, keeps Connor relatively restrained. You understand what he's carrying without needing a speech about it.

When the movie stays close to Connor's search, it has something worthwhile to say about what remains after the war is supposedly finished. If you like historical dramas built around personal stakes rather than military strategy, this is worth considering. 

Russell Crowe gives a father's search after Gallipoli real emotional weight, even when the movie drifts into romance and adventure. Its quieter moments are the ones that stay with you.

![MOVIE REVIEW: The Water Diviner (2014)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e9/54/e9540ff8-9c7a-495e-932d-5ba71686447c/content/images/2026/10/The-Water-Diviner-2014-16x9.jpg)

![MOVIE REVIEW: The Water Diviner (2014)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e9/54/e9540ff8-9c7a-495e-932d-5ba71686447c/content/images/2026/10/The-Water-Diviner-2014-2x3.jpg)

![MOVIE REVIEW: The Water Diviner (2014)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e9/54/e9540ff8-9c7a-495e-932d-5ba71686447c/content/images/2026/10/The-Water-Diviner-2014-4x5.jpg)

![MOVIE REVIEW: The Water Diviner (2014)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e9/54/e9540ff8-9c7a-495e-932d-5ba71686447c/content/images/2026/10/The-Water-Diviner-2014-5x6.jpg)

![MOVIE REVIEW: The Water Diviner (2014)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e9/54/e9540ff8-9c7a-495e-932d-5ba71686447c/content/images/2026/10/The-Water-Diviner-2014-6x5.jpg)

![MOVIE REVIEW: The Water Diviner (2014)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e9/54/e9540ff8-9c7a-495e-932d-5ba71686447c/content/images/2026/10/The-Water-Diviner-2014-3x1.jpg)

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