Russell Crowe has invited his fans to join him for a first look at his new movie, The Water Diviner. In a new featurette, Crowe's voice narrates the creative process that lead to the movie's script, showcased alongside scenes from the powerful period drama.

The Water Diviner Russell Crowe
'The Water Diviner' Sees Russell Crowe Bring A Tragic Yet Heart-Warming WWI Tale To Life.

Shot in Turkey and South Australia, the film studies the aftermath of World War I's Battle of Gallipoli that famously took place between the Allied forces and the German-backed Ottoman Empire on the Gallipoli peninsula. The film centres on Connor (Crowe), an Australian man who travels to Turkey in 1919 to retrieve the bones of his three dead sons but unexpectedly finds a new meaning to his life.

In the feature, the Gladiator actor explains that the movie was inspired by a single line in a letter from a War Graves Commission official about the fact that "one old chap managed to get here from Australia, looking for his son's grave." This sparked an idea for a very moving human angle to a tragic war story and The Water Diviner concept was created.

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Crowe says that he knew about the toll on Australian, New Zealander, Indian, French, British and Newfoundlander forces but the part of the story that resonated with him the most was the Turkish side. "The thing that resounded with me when I first read the script was the Turkish perspective," he reveals.

"I knew the number of Australian and New Zealand dead but I didn't know the number of Turkish dead."

Watch 'The Water Diviner' Trailer:

The Noah star adds that the plot's compelling characters and strong script "Right from the first reading, I knew I was having a response to the script that was different." He continues "Yes, I could see the character clearly, yes, I was making notes on behalf of the character, but I was actually visualising the entire story as I read it."

Written by Andrew Anastasios and Andrew Knight, the movie sees Crowe take the reigns as director as well as star alongside Jai Courtney, Olga Kurylenko, Jai Courtney, Cem Yılmaz and Yılmaz Erdogan.

It's clear from the filmmaker's words that this is a project of passion not vanity and that he is not only excited to share a unique and heart-warming new story with the world, but wishes to underline the horrors of war, no matter which side you're on.

The Water Diviner will be released this year.

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