Gallipoli Film Analysis

The documentary Gallipoli by Tolga Ornak and the film of the same name by Peter Weir, are useful resources to stimulate middle school student interest in, and engagement with, the story of Galipoli and its context in Wold War 1.
The 2005 documentary Gallipoli by Turkish filmmaker Tolga Ornek is a graphic examination of the disastrous Gallipoli campaign told by both sides. The story is explored through primary resources such as personal diaries and letters. By using exerpts from the diaries and letters of the soldiers living the experience, the documentary allows these young men a voice which reaches through history to tell us of the hopes they had, the betrayal they felt and the misery they suffered. This is not done in grandiose rhetoric but rather with the matter -of -fact simple language of ordinary men writing letters home or writing in their diaries. The documentary focuses on the experiences of ten men (two Turks, three Australians, three New Zealanders and two from Britain) who represent the range of the soldiers present on both sides of the battle. Their stories are illustrated with photographs taken of the actual events by both official war
They are sent to Turkey, where they take part in the Gallipoli Campaign. During the course of the movie, the young men slowly lose their innocence about the purpose of war. Gallipoli portrays the story through the eyes of these Australian men. It does not give the other sides view. It captures the ideals and character of the Australians who joined up to fight, as well as the conditions they endured on the battlefield. It does, however, modify events for dramatic purposes and contains a number of significant historical inaccuracies. The story , characters and their experiences while based on actual events are entirely