First Hit: Although it lagged at times, it was a well meaning story and was thoughtful in the characterizations of specific individuals .
Connor (Russell Crowe) is an Australian farmer who learned water divining from his father. He looks and listens to what the land is telling him. He does this alone while his wife is at home. We soon learn that his three boys went off to war together.
The war was in Turkey and the specific battle Connor believes his boys died in, was Gallipoli. He decides he must go to Turkey and bring his boys' bodies back to Australia for a proper burial. However the English, who appear to running the cleanup effort tell him he cannot go into the area where the bodies were hastily buried.
He steals his way into the area and with the assistance of the Turkish Major Hasan (Yilmaz Erdogan) is allowed to look for his boy’s bodies. His divining experience allows him to see where his boys died. The army digs up the bones of two of his boys. It the search for the third son that leads him on an amazing journey of longing, love and forgiveness.
There are scenes that are extraneous and obvious for additional and not-required emotional engagement.
Crowe is strong as Conner. Ergogan is wonderful as the Turkish major who understands Connor’s drive to find his boys. Olga Kurylenko is dynamite as Ayshe, a Turkish woman whose husband was killed in the same war and has a young son who takes a liking to Connor. Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios wrote a good script and I think it could have been cut a little and tightened up. Crowe directed this film and for the most part it was good.
Overall: There are wonderful scenes with Kurylenko and Crowe and with Crowe and Ergogan.