So they resorted to their imaginations.The pace is stately and the story takes some meandering turns. “It was a huge commitment and a serious undertaking to visit a country of which you have no knowledge.“By that stage, the Ottoman Empire was being dismantled completely by the Allies, and so it was in disarray and the idea of just turning up in a country that is slowly being dismembered was really quite fascinating. The history behind 'The Water Diviner' The following article first appeared as "The History Diviners: Monash Scholars Explore the History Behind ‘The Water Diviner’", April 23, 2015 on Monash University Arts Online, and is … Indeed, the screenwriters used Gallipoli as a jumping-off point to tell a story about a grieving father. The reality on the ground, however, was that it would develop into a stalemate. The script for The Water Diviner was adapted into a novel for Pan Macmillan by Andrew and his wife, Dr Meaghan Wilson-Anastasios (BA(Hons), MArtCur, PhD), who is also a Faculty of Arts alumna and lecturer at The University of Melbourne.The information on this form is being collected by the University of Melbourne for further communication regarding various courses, programs and events at the University in which you have expressed interest. Dr Meaghan Anastasios, a writer, lecturer in the Faculty of Arts and “lapsed archaeologist”, as well as Andrew’s wife, worked with him on converting the screenplay into a novel. They were insistent, however, that if it was not going to be a true story, then it would at least be based on other people’s experiences.For all the focus on Gallipoli as the pinnacle of Australia’s participation in World War One, in creating The Water Diviner, Andrew Anastasios and Andrew Knight were eager to paint a more detailed picture of the Ottoman Empire at the time, to put the Gallipoli skirmish in the context of a much larger war. Information collected will only be used by authorised staff for the purpose for which it was collected and will be protected against unauthorized access and use. The novel is available from book stores across Australia. Not that Joshua, played by the ever-capable Crowe, requires much helping. The opening announces it was inspired by true events. Contact the You can access any personal information the University holds about you. Faculty of Arts alumnus Andrew Anastasios (BA(Hons), MA) co-wrote the original screenplay for The Water Diviner, an historical drama directed by Russell Crowe. He and co-writer Andrew Knight searched for more than a year but were unable to find more about the mystery father. It is the story of a father who, after World War One, goes in search of his sons who fought at Gallipoli and presumably died there. It was very important for us to demonstrate the opposite view in the film – the idea that the Turks were defending their country and we were invading it.”The film has been described as ‘anti-war but not anti-warrior’, a balance which Andrew believes remains respectful to the ANZAC experience and to the individuals that fought.
Their interactions are among the film's more interesting, as Hasan's information leads Connor to pursue a long trek across perilous countryside. Sometimes, the broad focus on the seminal Battle of Gallipoli from Australian, Turkish and Greek perspectives, the search for Connor's sons' bodies and the burgeoning love story feels like too much going on. They discovered diaries of Turkish soldiers and officers written on the front line. The Water Diviner is a historical drama that follows an Australian farmer (Crowe) who travels to Turkey to find his three missing sons. It was almost a fait accompli,” explains Andrew.“But when the ANZACs met this massive resistance from the Turks, it was quite a shock, and the reports coming back to Australia were ‘Oh yes, minor setback but a couple more days and we’ll be okay’. Russell Crowe proves he has filmmaking skills with his directorial debut The title character is taciturn Australian farmer and water diviner (someone who predicts where water lies underground) Joshua Connor (Crowe), who sails off to the Dardanelles in Turkey to find his three soldier sons believed to have been killed in combat.Connor sets out after his wife Eliza (Jacqueline McKenzie), consumed by sorrow, takes her life in the wake of her sons' deaths. The Water Diviner’s story was inspired by a single line in a letter from a Colonel (in the Imperial War Graves Unit), who noted how an Australian man came to Gallipoli, searching for his sons’ graves. ... What proves more substantial is the film's true subtext about the aftermath of the WWI itself. They wanted to show the consequences of what happened afterwards, during what was a deeply traumatic and transformative time for Turkey, and the fallout for the Ottoman Empire. One of those flights of memory involves an Australian dust storm during which Connor rescued the youths, who were out in the elements when it struck.Some of the recurring themes in this sprawling story fall flat or feel forced, including It's a wide-ranging film, narratively as well as geographically. It is the story of a father who, after World War One, goes in search of his sons …
But none of the characters are fully fleshed out.Far less involving is a contrived and melodramatic romance that grows between Connor and Ayshe. The line in the letter, a footnote in a much more detailed account, simply said, “One old chap managed to get here from Australia, looking for his son’s grave.”“Lt Col Hughes was trying to identify the bodies, and here was this father who just turned up from Australia, out of nowhere,” recalls Andrew. Detours abound. I guess that line just jumped out at me.”When Andrew approached (co-writer) Andrew Knight about his discovery, he too was excited to learn more.