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Greek Reporter
Jan 18 2015
Greek-Australians Offended by Russel Crowe's Directorial Debut
Russell Crowe's directorial debut has caused some strong reactions
among members of the Greek Diaspora in Australia. The film, entitled
"The Water Diviner," which premiered in the country during Christmas,
is set in the early '20s and focuses on the Australian and New Zealand
Army Corps (ANZAC) in the Battle of Gallipoli.
An Australian farmer travels to Istanbul in search of his three sons
after the Battle of Gallipoli. He meets Turkish officials who tell him
their side of the story about what happened to ANZAC when they were
overtaken by Turkish forces, assisted by German and Austrian troops.
According to Dr. Panagiotis Diamantis, Professor of History
(specializing in genocide) at the University of Sydney, Crowe and
Greek-Australian screenwriter Andrew Anastasios, who wrote the book
that inspired the film, tried to send an anti-war message but ended
portraying the victims as perpetrators and the perpetrators as
victims.
Both the Armenians and Greeks who lived in the region are portrayed as
barbaric and bloodthirsty conquerors, not as natives who were forced
to defend themselves against the 1914 Ottoman Empire campaign.
Crowe defended his decision, saying that 100 years later, Australians
had the maturity to hear the opposite side of the story. However,
Diamantis disagrees, stating that Crowe presented distorted facts.
"The first step in setting right a litany of wrongs is a disclaimer at
the beginning of each screening of this film, acknowledging that
Hellenes, Armenians and Assyrians are the indigenous peoples of
Anatolia and that the film may offend them and their descendants,"
wrote the professor in an extensive article, published in the Greek
Diaspora newspaper Neos Kosmos.
http://au.greekreporter.com/2015/01/18/greek-australians-offended-by-russel-crowes-directorial-debut/
Jan 18 2015
Greek-Australians Offended by Russel Crowe's Directorial Debut
Russell Crowe's directorial debut has caused some strong reactions
among members of the Greek Diaspora in Australia. The film, entitled
"The Water Diviner," which premiered in the country during Christmas,
is set in the early '20s and focuses on the Australian and New Zealand
Army Corps (ANZAC) in the Battle of Gallipoli.
An Australian farmer travels to Istanbul in search of his three sons
after the Battle of Gallipoli. He meets Turkish officials who tell him
their side of the story about what happened to ANZAC when they were
overtaken by Turkish forces, assisted by German and Austrian troops.
According to Dr. Panagiotis Diamantis, Professor of History
(specializing in genocide) at the University of Sydney, Crowe and
Greek-Australian screenwriter Andrew Anastasios, who wrote the book
that inspired the film, tried to send an anti-war message but ended
portraying the victims as perpetrators and the perpetrators as
victims.
Both the Armenians and Greeks who lived in the region are portrayed as
barbaric and bloodthirsty conquerors, not as natives who were forced
to defend themselves against the 1914 Ottoman Empire campaign.
Crowe defended his decision, saying that 100 years later, Australians
had the maturity to hear the opposite side of the story. However,
Diamantis disagrees, stating that Crowe presented distorted facts.
"The first step in setting right a litany of wrongs is a disclaimer at
the beginning of each screening of this film, acknowledging that
Hellenes, Armenians and Assyrians are the indigenous peoples of
Anatolia and that the film may offend them and their descendants,"
wrote the professor in an extensive article, published in the Greek
Diaspora newspaper Neos Kosmos.
http://au.greekreporter.com/2015/01/18/greek-australians-offended-by-russel-crowes-directorial-debut/