I have seen the trailer of The Water Diviner. (I needed tissues) I have read some
of the reviews and interviews from Australian newspapers. I am reading the
book. (Again I needed more tissues)
Over the past week or so, newspapers around Australia and
the world have been flooded with interviews by Russell Crowe promoting his new
movie The Water Diviner. I have consciously only read the Australian reviews,
because well they know the subject matter of Gallipoli within the Australian
consciousness the best. Most of the interviews I have read repeated the same
kind of information, the story of the film, Russell Crowe’s impressive film
career, the beginnings of his role as a director and a few of his comments
about the making of the film and interpretations about the Anzacs at Gallipoli.
There were two interviews that really stood out for me and offered something a
bit different than the others. To the best of my knowledge these interviews are
not available online.
The first one “Crowe
flies a movie” by Pip Christmass published in The Weekend West ‘Seven Days’
magazine that comes with The West Australian’s weekend edition December 13-19,
2014. The journalist writes “But the
Russell Crowe I am speaking to is chatty, expansive, funny and impassioned.
Perhaps it’s because I am deliberately not asking him all the usual paparazzi
questions: the phone-throwing, the failed musical career, the relationship
breakups. And perhaps it’s because he’s talking about his passion project The
Water Diviner…” I agree with the journalist in that it is pretty bad form
to keep going over events that happened long ago like the phone-throwing thing.
But I am kind of confused about the failed music career comment. He has written
and performed some great music with a range of people. I love the Crowe and
Doyle Songbook 3 songs and I am hoping for more and so do others.
The journalist goes on to talk about the movie, the original
idea and briefly what it is about. What I noticed and didn’t know is how much Australian
movies of the past influence Russell Crowe. “Crowe
says he wanted to hark back to the defining Australian films of the 1970’s –
the movies that had such a deep influence on him as a child…”The films of Peter
Weir, Bruce Beresford, Fred Schepisi and Gillian Armstrong, those things
exploded in me. Because they were the stories of where I was from…those were
Australian voices, and it’s always surprised me that we’ve had such ebbs and
flows in our business because we’ve created so many great films – directors,
actors, cinematographers, costume designers. At this stage, I wouldn’t be
interested in going and directing a movie out of LA or whatever. The whole
reason for me wanting to direct is to tell stories of the place that I am from,
the place I understand”…And this is where we have come full circle back to
Crowe’s desire to tell quintessentially Australian stories. “At this point I am
not so interested in stories from other places...”
Until now I have always been under the impression Russell
Crowe was never really fond of Australia or Australians other than his family
and a few friends. Yes, Australia was the place he grew up in and his sanctuary
where he could live an ordinary life with his wife and family after he had made
it in Hollywood. There is no doubt he definitely appreciated that. However, I
have always believed he was never particularly fond of Australia and
Australians which was fostered mainly by his use of social media. Maybe it was the
way Australia and Australians showed their lack of appreciation for exactly
what he had achieved professionally and then there was the citizenship issue.
When it came to his work, making movies and telling stories
I believed Russell Crowe genuinely thought everyone did everything better than
Australians as he always chose to work someone else even though it meant being
away from his family. Then there was the lack of support in sport for any
Australian team other than his Rabbitohs. Whether his words about telling
Australian stories and making movies about Australian stories remain true we
will have to wait and see. Over the past he has shown an interest in some
Australian stories including Batavia and the Tim Winton novel Dirt Music. He
has also made some interesting documentaries for example, the story of his take over of the South Sydney Rabbitohs with Peter Holmes a Court and another one on the
Sydney gang, the Bra boys. So that is true.
The second article was published in The Weekend Australian
Review last weekend (December 13-14) titled “Return to the Fatal Shore” by
Michael Brody. The first thing that hits the reader in the face is an
absolutely gorgeous photo of a smiling and happy Russell Crowe in a suit and
tie that wins over the reader immediately. (He has over the past couple of
weeks turned up to do interviews in his trackies which has attracted a great
deal of attention on social media) The article opens with some interesting
information about the difficulty of financing films in Australia. “Crowe has done more than bring some private
investment –Kerry Stoke’s Seven Network and James Packer’s RatPac Entertainment
– into an independent Australian film that didn’t put its hand out for
government agency funding.”
The journalist goes onto to explain about Russell Crowe, his
impressive movies and credits, thoughts on directing, the story of the movie,
the crew he selected and his experiences directing. However, in this interview Russell
Crowe states an important point about the Turkish Australian and New Zealand
relationship “The Turkish experience
resonated with Crowe, who can’t forget how accepting the country is of
Australians and New Zealanders… “It’s
quite an uncomfortable thing to have in common, that we were once at war, but I
think it binds us and gives us an incredibly strong bond... “Not everyone sees the Turkish perspective
as valid. And that shocks me.”
Australia, New Zealand and Turkey have created a special
relationship through a shared history at Gallipoli. Every year around Anzac day,
thousands of Australians and New Zealanders flock to Gallipoli to try and
understand what happened there decades before, pay their respects and attend a
dawn service. Many of them go to find out what happened to relatives who fought
and died there long ago. A search that began in the memories, family stories
and photographs of loved ones and the archives of national buildings like
libraries and war memorials. Then there
is a whole tourism industry around Gallipoli so much so now Australians and New
Zealanders need to apply for tickets to attend a service, in particular for
next year. That says a lot about the relationship between Turkey, the
Australians and New Zealanders.
As 2015 approaches and the 100 th anniversary there has been
and will be plenty of debate and events concerning Gallipoli. As a nation we
have to understand our own perspective first before those of others. Some
Australians are not quite there yet for understanding others in particular
those who are the descendants of the Anzacs who fought and died at Gallipoli. To
me that is understandable.
Yes, I am an Australian.
Yes, I am an Australian.
References
Anastasios, A and Wilson-Anastasios, M (2014). The Water Diviner. Sydney: Pan
MacMillian Australian.
