"pretty delicious to look at. aside from Crowe's solid performance, the cinematography alone makes it a sure crowd-please"

In the aftermath of his heartbroken wife's suicide, Aussie farmer Joshua Connor (Crowe) makes it his mission to find his three sons, all of whom have been missing in action since the 1915 battle of Gallipolo. The ensuing journey involves entanglements with the British government, rebellion in Turkey and a burgeoning relationship with a widowed hotelier (played by Bond girl Olga Kurylenko - a choice most male viewers will no doubt appreciate!).

The Water Diviner is Crowe's directorial debut and it's clear he has invested meotionally, drawing on the kind of films he saw himself as a young man growing up. Its subject matter is treated seriously but not in a way that makes it all too earnest, its scope is ambitious and most of the time, this mix of gritty war drama and picturesque human drama comes up trumps.

The romance side of things risks becoming a little sickly at times, but the central storyline of a lone farmer searching for his boys packs a strong punch, particularly in the film's first half. 

It's quite fascinating, too, that Crowe decides to show events not as he and other Australians would have been told them, but from the Turkish viewpoint. As he told a London press conference recently: "War is war, no matter what side you're on. Everyone sacrificed something. There is no monopoly on grief."

There's plenty Crowe wants to get across, most obviously a strong anti-war message, but sometimes it seems a little forced, and the relationship between himself and the hotelier Ayshe is a little contrived, and not half as touching as he hoped it would be. 

That said, The Water Diviner is pretty delicious to look at. aside from Crowe's solid performance, the cinematography alone makes it a sure crowd-pleaser. with as many gorgeous sunsets, symbolic shots of water and stunning battle scenes as any film buff could want. 

For an actor's first shot in the director's chair, this is not a bad result. But if I could have a discreet word in Mr Crowe's ear, I'd say ease up on the slush and go for it big time on the epic battles front. That's what worked.