Is the movie The Water Diviner (2014) based on a true story?

Yes, The Water Diviner (2014) is based on a true story. The movie tells the story of an Australian farmer, Joshua Connor, who travels to Turkey after the Battle of Gallipoli to find the bodies of his three lost sons. The movie is inspired by a true story of Cyril Hughes, a New Zealand soldier who stayed behind in Turkey after the war to oversee the exhumation and identification of the bodies of fallen soldiers.

What is the true story behind the movie The Water Diviner (2014)?

The Water Diviner (2014) is a historical drama film that tells the story of Joshua Connor, an Australian farmer who travels to Turkey after the Battle of Gallipoli in search of his three sons who are missing in action. The film stars Russell Crowe as Joshua Connor, Olga Kurylenko as Ayshe, and Yılmaz Erdoğan as Major Hassan.

While the characters and their personal struggles are fictional, the Gallipoli campaign and its aftermath are based on historical events. The Battle of Gallipoli, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign, took place during World War I in 1915. The Allied forces, mainly comprising of British, French, and Australian troops, attempted to capture the Ottoman Empire’s capital city of Istanbul by using the Gallipoli peninsula as a strategic base. However, the campaign failed, resulting in heavy losses for both sides.

After the war ended, many families of soldiers who went missing during the battle traveled to Gallipoli to search for their loved ones’ remains. It is said that about 8,000 Australian and New Zealand soldiers died during the Battle of Gallipoli, and around 2,000 were reported missing, with some still unaccounted for today.

The Water Diviner. written by Andrew Anastasios and Andrew Knight and directed by Russell Crowe, imagines the journey of one such father, Joshua Connor, as he travels to Turkey to find his sons’ remains and bring them back home. The film also explores the relationship between Connor and Ayshe, a young Turkish widow whose husband died in the war.

In conclusion, while The Water Diviner is a fictional story, it has a basis in historical events and the aftermath of the Gallipoli campaign.