Rosewater (2014) User Reviews (42)

Important and interesting film - must see

[behzad-1 · 8/10 · 4 November 2014]

The first thing everyone notes about this film is that it's Jon Stewart's directorial debut... and he did a great job. His characteristic humor is definitely present and rightly downplayed in deference to the serious subject. It flourishes when necessary, and when it does, his wit is as sharp as ever.

Stewart took some chances. Most importantly, he set the film in English instead of Persian with subtitles. While this brings a broader audience it diminishes the film's authenticity a bit. It's a calculated cost/benefit decision that I reluctantly agree with. The story is important and should reach as many people as possible. Still, he could have mixed in more Persian for a slightly better balance.

The language decision also opened the door to casting non-Persian actors, particularly the lead. Gael García Bernal played his highly nuanced character superbly but the role could have gone to one of many talented and available Persian actors. They would have added to the film's authenticity without sacrificing its artistic merit.

Once we get past these relatively minor language and ethnicity issues with the actors we find they are realistic and believable. To Stewart's (and Maziar Bahari's) credit, the Iranian officials are not the usual flat, black and white caricatures we love to hate in mainstream media; they are dynamic, regular people, crazed and ignorant to us, but "normal" in their own world. As Bahari said in an interview, even his torturer saw what he did as "a job", with benefits and overtime. This shifts the focus onto the corrupt institutions of the Iranian regime instead of mere personalities that can be summarily dismissed.

By countering the norm for demonizing all things Iran-related, Rosewater sets itself apart as a uniquely thoughtful, fascinating, important and relevant film.

Sweet Smell of Success

[jadepietro · 8/10 · 18 December 2014]

This film is recommended.

Comedian and television host Jon Stewart took a leave of absence from his television work to make this powerful political drama, Rosewater, a film that became a small part of his life after filming a faux-news segment on his Daily Show gig. That interview became evidence to try and convict that guest, Maziar Bahari, an Iranian-born journalist. (In 2009, Bahari was arrested in Iran while covering a story for Newsweek and falsely accused of being a spy.) Stewart took a personal interest in his story due to his subsequent involvement with this reporter.

Like the prisoners in Kiss of the Spider Woman, Bahari retreats into a fantasy world in order to keep his sanity over the many long months during this ordeal. His scenes in solitary confinement serve in sharp contrast with memories of his past life, as one is immediately drawn into his plight. Rosewater vividly chronicles this injustice as it focuses on his imprisonment and torture.

Bahari (Gael García Bernal) is arrested soon after the movie opens, while his mother, Moloojoon (Shohreh Aghdashloo), helplessly looks on. The film takes its time with its exposition of the political ramifications of an election and the country's divide among its party leaders and supporters. The protests lead to the harrowing sequences of brutal interrogation between Bahari and his captor, Javadi (Kim Bodnia) that are the majority of the film's content. (Bahari spends most of these scenes blindfolded and his only connection with his interrogator is the heavy scent of rosewater wore by his adversary, hence the title.)

First time writer / director Stewart skillfully builds the tension and frustration faced by this prisoner and wisely allows the two actors to play off each other in subtle and overt ways. Sometimes the atmospheric photography is self-conscious, with too much hand-held camera-work overused in order to try to capture the frenzied state of revolution; other times, he keeps a keen visual eye as the events unfold, as when walking the streets of Iran and flooding its windows with surreal images of Bahari's family amid the social unrest.

Bernal is very effective as Bahari. One can sense the fear and inner strength within this character by the physical choices that the actor makes, from his trembling voice to his stoic posturing. The role might be written as too saintly and heroic, but Bernal downplays that aspect beautifully. Especially touching is Bernal's inspired dance against oppression set to a Leonard Cohen song. His is a strong and memorable portrayal of a man who has lost freedom but not his sense of hope. The same can be adversely said of the thankless role of the evil interrogator. As his opponent, Bodnia is a commanding force, both as actor and written character. The film succeed primarily due to their spirited performances.

The political debating between the two men plays out like a point/ counterpoint segment as each tries to gain the psychological advantage of the other. Although the moviegoer may already know the outcome of the film, the escalating dangers between captor and captive make for predictable but still riveting viewing.

The film does become slightly preachy and self-righteous as its point-of-view is strictly on the side of its protagonist. But the impact of an innocent man wronged by a tyrannical regime resonates with understated power. Rosewater is an important film that documents the perils of journalism in a crazed world where politics and religion frequently undermine rational thinking, all at the cost of one's man's precious freedom. GRADE: B

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"You must take his hope"

[paul-allaer · 7/10 · 16 November 2014]

"Rosewater" (2014 release; 103 min.) brings the true story of Iranian-born journalist Maziar Bahari. As the movie opens, it is "June 21, 2009", when we see Iranian police arrest Bahari at his mother's house in Tehran. We then go back to June 9, 2009, a few days before the presidential elections in Iran. Bahari is making final preparations in the UK for his trip to Iran, and we learn that his wife is pregnant. To tell you much more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for your self how it all plays out.

Several comments: first, much of the movie's claim to fame comes from the fact that this is written and directed by Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show. Stewart's script is based on Bahari's memoir "Then They Came For Me". Second, the movie is divided up into 2 halves: in the first half we see what transpires in the days before and after the elections, and the second half brings the imprisonment of Bahari. I must admit I enjoyed the first half more, not because the second half is "bad", but because Stewart pulls no punches on the emotional and psychological torture which Bahari must endure. Some scenes are simply very tough to watch. Stewart uses quite a bit of archive footage in the first half of the movie. Third, the infamous scene from The Daily Show in which Bahari is mock-interviewed by an American "spy", is played up in the movie, to great effect (the Iranian interrogator/torturer asks: "why did you interview the American spy?", to which Bahari responds: "if he was really a spy, why would he have his own TV show?", ha!). There are several other lighter moments which benefit the movie greatly. At one point Bahari obtains an interview with an Iranian spokesman by offering chocolates. "Allah is no match for chocolates", Bahari tells his co-workers, ha! Last but not least, there is a nice orchestral soundtrack, composed by veteran Howard Shore.

The movie opened on all of 2 screens for all of Greater Cincinnati this weekend. I had been looking forward to this, and went to see it right away. The early evening screening I saw this at was not particularly well attended, but this doesn't surprise me. This is not particularly a feel-good movie, and not for a broad audience. If on the other hand you are interested in the topic, I would readily recommend that you check out this movie, be in the theater, or later on DVD/Blu-ray.

Fact based story of Iranian injustice

[t-dooley-69-386916 · 7/10 · 18 October 2015]

Based on the book 'And then they came for me' by Maziar Bahari who is a London based Iranian journalist. Both his father and sister were victims of the State. First under the Shah and then the Ayatollah's both for being Communists.

He travelled to Iran to cover the elections of 2009; the results were wildly contested by the public and international media – seeing them as rigged. Bahari covered the subsequent rioting and the lethal clamp down by the Iranian forces and got the news out; this is a country where the State controls all aspects of life including access to satellite programmes, books and news. For that he was arrested and tortured; this is his story.

This film was made by Jon Stewart who interviewed Bahari for a spoof he did on his show. That footage was used to try to prove Bahari was a spy for the corrupt West. Gael Garcia Bernal stars as Bahari and as always puts in a superb performance – he is one of my favourite actors so I am a bit biased. This is a film that takes its time but it manages to still be hard hitting enough to have the impact I feel it was aiming for. It uses genuine footage as well to recreate the times and it a better watch for it. One for fans of World cinema that is easy to recommend.

Free Press

[ferguson-6 · 6/10 · 13 November 2014]

Greetings again from the darkness. A surefire method to get attention for a movie is "the feature film directorial debut of Jon Stewart". The popular comedian/commentator/talk show host makes an exceptional living getting people to laugh and think, so a politically charged story based on real life events should be right in his proverbial wheelhouse. Mix in the fact that Stewart and his show are linked to those events, and now you have some real intrigue.

Maziar Bahari was a Newsweek political correspondent sent to cover the 2009 Presidential election in Iran. His experience led him to write the book "Then They Came For Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity and Survival", on which the film is based. Bahari was a young husband who left his pregnant wife at home for what he thought would be an assignment lasting but a few days. Instead, by the time he returned home, he had been held captive in Evin Prison for 118 days – suspected of being a foreign spy, and incessantly interrogated and subjected to psychological and physical torture.

Gael Garcia Bernal plays Bahari with a naive and amiable spirit that contrasts sharply with what we might envision as the traits necessary for success in his line of work. It does work well to allow the viewer a quick connection with the character as we later pull for him during the toughest moments. The film brings light to the importance of a free press, and the dangers inherent otherwise. As the Iranian government accuses Bahari of being a spy, it's easy for us to understand the blurred line between spy and journalist. Those with the most to hide are often the most paranoid.

When Bahari first arrives in Iran, happenstance leads him to cross paths with a taxi driver who enthusiastically introduces him to the "educated" … the "not Ahmadinejad" faction. These are the revolutionaries working to bring enlightenment to the government through their candidate. As you are probably aware, the election instead brought what Bahari's mother (Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of Sand and Fog) calls "the same old sh**". In other words, despite seemingly overwhelming support, their candidate lost in what they can only assume was another fixed election.

Bahari's personal story is the focus of the film much more than an investigative look into Iranian elections. He films the protests of the election aftermath, and the next morning he is awakened to a search of his personal belongings. The accusations begin with such laughers as having his "Sopranos" DVD classified as a pornography collection. Laughs are short-lived though, as Bahari is arrested and swept away to the prison. The torture he faces is nothing like what we witnessed in Zero Dark Thirty, but the psychological warfare waged by his interrogator (Kim Bodnia) is designed to break down Bahari emotionally so that he admits to being a spy (an enemy of the government).

We certainly gain insight into Bahari's personal struggle to maintain his hope and position. Visions of his father and sister appear to him in his cell and provide advice. These apparitions seem more level-headed and passionate than Bahari was even before his arrest. And therein lies the biggest issue with the movie. We know how the story ends, so the suspense is non-existent. Instead, we are somehow to relate to the daily misery endured by Bahari, but that just isn't captured in a two hour movie. The closest we get is a remarkable sequence where Mr Bernal (as Bahari) moves to the music (in his head) of Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love". This is a man clinging to hope for his future with memories from the past. It's a very touching moment.

The need for a free press is obvious from this story, but it's unclear whether another point made in the movie was intentional. Bahari has his camera holstered during the violent election aftermath until he is disparaged by one of the rebels … something along the lines of "you have a weapon and choose not to use it". This moment raises the question of whether these political correspondents are so concerned about personal danger that they let that affect the stories they tell and the pictures we see. This may be the most powerful question raised by the film, and one not easy to answer.

Lastly, it does seem at times that the movie plays as Jon Stewart's tribute to Maziar Bahari, which makes us wonder whether Stewart's burden of guilt from his (unintended) role in Bahari's capture was the driving force behind the making of the film. It comes across a bit light on issues and heavy on hero-worship (apology). Still, mixing in actual news footage and the role of social media, keeps us from forgetting that this is a real man plunged into a dangerous situation simply because he was trying to show and tell the truth.

compelling first 30 min

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 31 August 2015]

In 2009, Maziar Bahari (Gael García Bernal) travels to his homeland to report on the Iranian election for Newsweek. His father was once imprison for being a communist and so was his late sister. He does a segment with The Daily Show. When Ahmadinejad is declared the winner, protests erupted and he's arrested. He is imprisoned for 4 months facing constant interrogation.

The movie is pretty compelling for the first 30 minutes. It's interesting history and good drama. After getting imprisoned, the movie doesn't have quite as much. Jon Stewart doesn't really have any interesting style and that section needs that something out of the box. It's earnest and so is everybody else. Jon could have gone surreal. It's pretty straight forward with some attempts at dark humor. It's a fine informative film.

Decent first film for Jon Stewart...

[RevRonster · 6/10 · 17 April 2015]

The true story of journalist Maziar Bahari felt tailor-made to be a movie and it was only fitting that it was made by Jon Stewart.

The story is powerful and emotional and the performances—especially from Gael García Bernal—were incredible. The only downside I have for the film is its lack of replay value and the emotional and dramatic impact of the events felt slightly less than they should have been due to the film's soundtrack that, in my opinion, wasn't as strong as the action unfolding in the story. The music just wasn't complimentary enough for me. Aside from this, the film is still very powerful and a great first outing for director Jon Stewart.

Power of good writing.

[paulcreeden · 9/10 · 28 June 2015]

I am pleasantly surprised when I find a well written film which relies on acting, enhanced by subtle art direction. So I was absorbed in this film from its beginning. The relationships between Maziar, his mother, his sister, his father, his Iranian peers and his persecutors are intertwined beautifully.

Gael Garcia Bernal is probably one of a handful of international stars who could light up this story with consistently excellent acting. Kim Bodnia and Haluk Bilinger are also part of that group. The cast carries the storyline which is rather uncomplicated and well worn. The political, cultural and social issues for Maziar Bahari are not. Bernal's interpretation of the tortured and isolated journalist is painfully realistic. It is not the over-the-top Hollywood version of blood, nudity and brutality. This sets this film apart.

I came away from the interchanges between Bahari and Rosewater with a better understanding of the repressed sexuality in theocratic Iran. Its patriarchy is twisted by its own harsh theology. The relationships between Bahari, his father and Rosewater could represent the core struggle between Iran's past and aspirations for its future. This is definitely a thinking person's film.

Thought provoking

[valleyjohn · 7/10 · 28 June 2015]

Rosewater is a thought provoking film about Canadian/Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari who is detained by Iranian secret services and is subtly interrogated under suspicion that he is a spy. I have seen it described as torture but it's quite clear he wasn't really physically tortured , arguably he was mentally . Directed by The Daily Show's , Jon Stewart . This is more about how social networking and modern forms of communication are bigger than dictatorships and how that when the word is spread it , people just can't disappear which would have happened previously. Some great performances from Gael García Bernal and Kim Bodnia make this a really good film. 7 out of 10

A movie you just want to like more

[estreet-eva · 5/10 · 15 July 2015]

Given the importance of a free press and the direction of the much- loved John Stewart, you just wanted this movie to be more entertaining or, at least, thought-provoking. Unfortunately, it produces both in somewhat limited quantities. Stewart, who clearly does snark on an Olympic-level does excel here at showing the ridiculousness of the Iranian charges against the Time reporter they imprison, beat and torture. He shows the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad regime to be petty, out-of-touch and trying to stay in power by fighting the previous overthrow of the Iranian government which did involve the involvement of the West to install the former Shah of Iran. Of course, covert CIA operations have long since been replaced by the coordinated actions of ground-level young people using Twitter and the deep web to coordinate. Stewart demonstrates these realities well and provides a realistic portrayal of the tactics used by these particular torturers (which resemble those used by torturers through history and geography). The movie just feels more like reportage than drama and the reporters eventual release isn't quite the end of "Shawshank Redemption". In short, still worth seeing if you enjoyed "Syriana" or a have a particular interest in global politics or history.

Outstanding

[mano2443 · 10/10 · 29 August 2014]

John Stewart does an outstanding job skillfully portraying an incredible journey by a western journalist caught in the Iranian post-election revolt. a must-see thriller. The acting is captivating, and the sets are truly realistic as they filmed in the middle east. Definitely a work that will not be forgotten. This movie is particularly relevant with the current prosecution of journalists in Ukraine and the middle east. The audience is thrown into the riot environment with the amazing work of the directors. Jon Stewart does a great job. The actor playing Maziar is truly captivating. It is great to see an original film that captures some of the problems of our generation. Will look forward to Stewart's future works.

Interesting in the first half but becomes overly sincere and lacking in emphasis in the second

[bob the moo · 24 May 2015]

Many years ago an Iranian journalist called Maziar Bahari was interviewed by Jason Jones as part of a bit for the Daily Show. When that same journalist was later arrested and held for supposedly being part in a Western-led coordination of protests against the Government, this section of the show was a part of the evidence used against him, since it appeared to show him meeting with a spy. As a viewer of the Daily Show, the repeated mentions of the film made me interested to see it – not to mention that the time away from the show for Stewart already had the bonus of helping John Oliver get his own show over on HBO. Anyway, the story, and the chance to see the outcome of this period away for Stewart, made me interested to see it when it finally reached the UK or a limited release.

The film opens with Bahari's arrest, and then flashed back to the events in Iran that led up to this, including the aforementioned interview. As a structure it is interesting because it does fill out the events at the time, and also some of the history of the character's family (which also serves as a way of accessing the recent history of Iran in some small ways). In the telling there are a few rather clumsy devices in there, and also at times a strange mix of drama and humor; not all of it works particularly well, and the second half of the film specifically seems a bit too earnest and straight in its telling. The torture and detainment toys with showing the horror, and also showing the boredom, fear, and longing, but all of these things are played equally and as a result it seems a bit too "normal" in terms of delivery. As the film progressed the more it became about events, and when the detainment is continuing, there are not so many "events" to engage, and surprisingly I found the film a little padded and lacking in edge and emphasis in the second half.

The use of foreign actors to play Iranians has been mentioned, but generally whatever their nationality the cast play the roles well within the confines of Stewart's direction. Garcia Bernal is a good presence in the lead role; likewise Bodnia works well in the second half – although neither really get to make a huge impact due to the slight flat or sincere tone of the film. Supporting turns are solid from Aghdashloo, Leonidas, Bilginer and others – albeit again, some of them are rather hampered by what the film is doing. Technically the film looks good, and has some good shots, but it does consistently lack an impact – particularly in the second half (which is really where it should have enabled some great scenes between Bodnia and Bernal).

It is an interesting film, but not a wholly successful one. The first half is event driven and engages as it tells a personal story with links to a much bigger one, but the whole second half of the film lacks impact and emphasis – feeling a little bit too earnest and surprisingly lacking in a clear voice as to what it is telling.

I really want Stewart to succeed!

[Hellmant · 7/10 · 2 January 2015]

'ROSEWATER': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Jon Stewart (of 'THE DAILY SHOW' fame) makes his directorial debut with this biopic about an Iranian-Canadian journalist, named Maziar Bahari, who was detained and violently interrogated, in Iran for 118 days, because he was suspected of being a spy. One of the main pieces of evidence, that captors used as proof of his guilt, was a satirical interview he did for 'THE DAILY SHOW'. Stewart directed and wrote the film; which he adapted from the memoir 'Then They Came for Me', by Maziar and Aimee Molloy. It stars Gael Garcia Bernal as the journalist and also features Kim Bodnia, Haluk Bilginer, Dimitri Leonidas and Shohreh Aghdashloo. I have mixed feelings about the film, in it's entirety, but I still think it's an impressive cinematic debut for Stewart.

Maziar Bahari (Bernal) was blindfolded, beaten and interrogated for 4 months, in Iran in 2009, while locked up in Evin prion. His interrogator (Bodnia) smelled like rosewater and he used a clip from 'THE DAILY SHOW', of Bahari being interviewed for the satirical political news show, as evidence of his guilt. 'THE DAILY SHOW' segment was recreated for the film, with 'THE DAILY SHOW' correspondent Jason Jones playing himself (Jones originally interviewed Bahari, while traveling in Iran recording video for the show). Bahari also shot incriminating protest video, prior to his arrest, which he gave to the BBC; the film suggests that this was the real reason for his arrest and brutal interrogation. The movie chronicles all of the events leading up to, and during, his nightmarish incarceration.

Stewart shows a lot of promise, with his visual technique, in several scenes throughout the film and it's really interesting seeing him write and direct a political drama, for his debut feature. Still the movie is very unbalanced; at times it's even humorous (to an extent that doesn't seem natural or believable, in the rest of the film's setting). The acting is good though and the lead character is well developed. I wish I could praise it more, because I really want Stewart to succeed as a filmmaker, but I'm happy he chose something that he's really passionate about (and somewhat already involved in) for his film debut (even if it's a flawed one). I look forward to seeing a lot more from him in the future.

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Not quite a dramatization

[Seraphion · 5/10 · 5 February 2015]

The movie presents quite an imbalanced story as a whole. The story building is quite brilliant by starting off from the arrest. It then develops very nicely by backtracking and restarting from London. But then when it reaches the point of the actual imprisonment days, the movie really lacks the suspense and dramatization that it needs to top out that story built. The prison days lacks very much the intensity that prison scenes should have. Even with the blindfold element, the scenes don't really seem intimidating. The Javadi character is depicted with a contradicting nature of being rigid but also kind of afraid of his inmate, even this can be exploited for adequate suspense. The acting overall is quite nice. Gael Garcia Bernal played out smoothly as an Iranian. Dimitri Leonidas, Haluk Bilginer and Kim Bodnia each played their roles well enough to complete the needed story angles. and

Powerful, Current

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 16 July 2015]

Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari is detained by Iranian forces who brutally interrogate him under suspicion that he is a spy.

In a sense, this is sort of the companion piece to Ben Affleck's "Argo". Another story involving Canadians and Iranians, only this time in the 2010s rather than around 1980. And we see that in some ways, things never change.

More films on Iran need to be made, just as more films need to be made in Iran. No country is more misunderstood by Americans, I would bet. While the government may be draconian at times, the people are good, loving people. We must not blame a people for their government.

Dynamic

[Red_Identity · 30 January 2015]

I really don't know how else to describe this film. The true story inspired a script of this sort that has success in finding some character rhythms but others that don't come off all that well. Really though, the problem here is in Jon Stewart's directing. At times it gets a bit too showy, too self- congratulatory. You can sort of tell that there's a sort of contradiction of tones happening. oh sure, one expects this sort of a film to be a downer, and in some ways the film has a certain dynamism in it that was probably not expected, but that doesn't make it all that good. It's not bad, but I have no passion for it whatsoever and I do think that Stewart needed to reel himself back in. Gael Garcia Bernal proves to be as strong of a protagonist as ever, though, and it's crazy that it looks like he hasn't aged a bit in ten years.

A good portrait and an interesting story

[peefyn · 7/10 · 30 January 2016]

I enjoyed this movie, as it humanizes both side of a conflict I knew very little about. The movie has a pretty direct and clear message, but it makes sense within the story. Social media being important, people banding together to stop oppression, these are all things that actually happened. The focus on popular culture being imported into Iran was a nice touch, reminding me of the book (and movie) Persepolis. The movie is also a good portrait of Bahari, who deserves recognition for what he does, and what he has been through.

According to Stewart and Bahari, the movie has taken some artistic licenses. For some reason this bugs me more than it usually would - as this movie seems to do everything it can to put itself in the real world. Real life footage, some people playing themselves, etc. I do trust Stewart to take some "honest" artistic licenses though, and not misrepresent the underlying stories, or give a too unbalanced look.

Sadly, Jon Stewart did not go for authentic language use, opting instead for "all English", meaning there does not have to be subtitles. The actors he found all did good jobs, but I wish he instead would have gone with Iranian actors and made it all in Persian.

Decent debut from Jon Stewart

[grantss · 7/10 · 11 February 2016]

Decent debut from Jon Stewart.

The true story of Maziar Bahari, an Iran-Canadian Newsweek journalist who went back to Iran in 2009 to cover the national elections. Once the despot Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the incumbent, wins the Presidency, protests breaks out. After filming and reporting on the election and protests, Bahari is arrested, imprisoned and tortured.

The first film, as director, for Jon Stewart, of The Daily Show fame. He also wrote the screenplay, adapted from Bahari's book "Then they came for me". A good place for Stewart to start as he knows Bahari well and had interviewed him many times on The Daily Show. Plus, Bahari's light-hearted interview with Jason Jones on The Daily Show is used against him during his arrest.

An interesting story, though doesn't really cover any new ground regarding freedom and how despots treat their people. Not a very compelling story, for this reason. Stewart pretty much covers the story in linear, blow-by-blow fashion, with the only departure from this being that the first scene is Bahari's arrest, and then we go back in time to see what lead to it.

Solid work from Gael Garcia Bernal in the lead role. Supporting cast are fine too.

A good enough start from Jon Stewart. He had a story he wanted to tell, and he told it. With experience and confidence he'll get better at telling stories in movie form.

A feelgood movie

[maxfrimodig · 7/10 · 3 February 2015]

When i saw this movie my thoughts about was, this could be a Münich movie one movie i liked very much. However this movie was a bit boring but yet interesting for the first half i did fall asleep at one time. But then come the second half of the movie and i did feel that this is a movie that i didn't waste my time in watching the whole movie. Yes it does contain some parts that should been left out, some parts would have been more strong. Could i see it again ye but not within a month or two, i would say this is a great movie to see on a dark night when rain is coming down hard. I would see it with my friends boyfriend/girlfriend its a non nudity well made movie with an very interesting story.

Excellent Film with Considerable Nuance

[bbachrac · 10/10 · 14 November 2014]

Well worth seeing. An engaging and moving film. Rosewater is a well done portrayal of an historical story. It is hard to believe that a Daily Show Episode set in motion all the events and consequences portrayed. Rosewater portrays with artistic imagery and cinematography the need to confront totalitarianism. The cast and acting is superb. Jon Stewart has done an excellent job in developing the screenplay and directing its filming. The scenes of Iran blended with other locations creates a moving montage. Do see Rosewater. I am not sure why IMDb wants ten lines of text for viewer reviews. I thoroughly valued seeing the movie and wanted to express my satisfaction with a review, but I was not expecting to need to write such a lengthy exposition. Do see Rosewater and take your friends and family.

A valiant effort

[jakob13 · 4/10 · 3 December 2014]

Stewart adapted the screenplay from Maziar Bahari's "They came to get me: a family's story of love, captivity, and survival," an account of the Iranian-Canadian journalist 118-day detention in Iran prisons. Not only did he write the script, he directed the film. It disappoints.

Rosewater is used in Islam to cleanse. In Jon Stewart's directorial debut Rosewater, the ceremonial perfume diffuses a malevolent odor of torture. Bahari's tormenter doused himself in Rosewater before interrogating him: hence the name he gave his tormentor.

As a director, Stewart has a flair for film. The snag, however, is the script. It is difficult convincingly to evoke an interior dialog that Bahari has with himself, his father or his sister, in solitary confinement.

Bahari's father died at the hands of the Shah's Savak and his sister perished in Ayetollah Khomeni's prisons: both belonged to the Tudah party, Iran's Communist party; both had strong convictions and moral fortitude to resist torture and interrogation until their final breath.

Maziar lacks that intestinal fortitude father and sister had. Saying this, he has an inner strength that at first fails, then sustains him. And yet, it makes us wonder the passivity Gael Bernal Garcia who plays Mousavi shows as he faces his tormentors.

Newsweek sent Bahari to his native Tehran to cover the 2009 elections. It was an eventful moment in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was running for the presidency again. His rival was reformist Mir-Hossein Mousavi seemed the likely winner.

But Mousavi was not in good odor for the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, so what looked as though the reformist politician was a shoo-in among the popular vote, he lost to Ahmadinejad in what looked like tricked election.

Protests broke out: Bahari filmed the spate of police violence against angry voters who claimed Ahmadinejed was fraudulently returned to office. It is this reportage that was viewed worldwide, and not Maziar's mock interview for Stewart's The Daily Show that had him arrested and put into solitary confinement.

As an expectant father, he is anxious to admit his wrongs publicly, in order to return to his wife's side, one hand. On the other, he fails; he is not immediately released.

Here the film becomes momentarily alive by the match of wits between Garcia and Rosewater. And yet, it is a sour moment for Rosewater becomes a witless puppet who is so isolated from the outside world, he is suddenly revealed as though he were born yesterday.

Stewart fails to turn Mosavi's inner dialog with his father and his sister more than an obvious theatrical device. Therein lies a serious flaw of the film. Rosewater wears its heart on its sleeve, and Stewart turns Mosavi's ordeal into the old college try for a touchdown for journalism—give us one for the Gipper!

Were it not for an international campaign calling for Bahari's release by Reporters Without Borders and the US in the person of secretary of state Hillary Clinton's calling for his release, in a worldwide effort to shame Iran, he would have stayed in his solitary confinement for more than 118 days.

For comparison, it is worthwhile reading Shane Bauer, Joshua Fattal and Sarah Shourd's A Sliver of Light: Three Americans imprisoned in Iran. And then there's the Washington Post journalist Jason Rezian who is being held without charge by Iran, without any immediate hope of release: the authorities say that it is too early because his case is in the preliminary stage of investigation.

Compelling and Topical Low Budget Film About Imprisoned Journaist

[LeonLouisRicci · 8/10 · 5 May 2015]

Here's Hoping that Satirist and now Film Writer/Director Jon Stewart has Compensated for the Guilt He must have Felt after a Segment on "The Daily Show" Indirectly or perhaps Directly led to the Arrest of Journalist Maziar Bahari in Iran on the Charges of being a Spy (that was play-acted in the TV Show segment).

Stewart Shows some Flair for Cinema in the First Half with some Effective, if Artsy Arrangements of Images Superimposed on Landscapes that is a Surreal Opening to an all too Real Second Half.

Also, it is the First Half of the Movie that Grips with its Diving into the Counter Culture of Iran's Youth Movement, its Braggadocio and Behavior that almost Begs for Attention from the Police State.

After the Controversial Election and its Aftermath of Riots that Journalist Bahari is Covering and His immediate Arrest and Imprisonment, the Film Takes a much more Sombre Tone and the Filmmaking Flourishes and maybe even its Purpose is Succumbed by the Interrogation and Captivity Scenes.

Although Stewart shows some Ability to alleviate some Boredom with Flashbacks and Dream Sequences, by the Third Act the Movie does Feel like it has Run its Course of Insight and Criticism of the Iranian Political System.

Overall, it is a Story Worth Watching and Remembering, still very Topical, and it's a Solid, if Wanting, Effort from Jon Stewart.

Political enough, Artistic enough, and Profound enough to be Recommended and Despite its Low Budget Limitation is Better than the Best Picture Winner of a Few Years Back that also was Set In Iran, Albeit in the 1970's.

pass..

[andre_andreas1987 · 3/10 · 22 November 2014]

movie did not make any sense and the ending was even more weird. Many cultural characteristics were off and the casting was horrible. If I saw any of the characters in public, except his mother, I would not think they are Iranian. One correct thing was that the best way of transportation is by motorcycle.

And which hardcore interrogator would become friends with the captive over massage stories and happy endings?

you have to be a stupid Iranian citizen to let your face be seen in every video even though you know you will be arrested.

you just let someone go and simply trust his word to be an Iranian spy after he becomes international news?

Okay for first directorial debut

The mind is a powerful thing

[scurvytoon · 10/10 · 12 February 2015]

How do you tell the story of interrogation, the breaking of the spirit, the finding of resistance and the desire to survive? Rosewater is a good answer. John Stewart the satirist and news anchor to a generation of Americans makes his serious film début by walking away from the usual balloon bursting of his show to take the bull by the horns and show us through imaginative devices like the deceased family of the journalist,flashbacks, a particularly moving moment with Leonard Cohen and straight narrative, how the mind is the strongest muscle in the human body if we allow it.

Modern journalism and the politics of dictatorship clash briefly to set up the main story, a two man play starring interrogator and prisoner. This is not a documentary about the Green revolution, nor is it a touchy feely film about family. John Stewart takes the book Then They Came for Me by Maziar Bahari & Aimee Molloy and focuses on the core material around the detention of the journalist by Iranian authorities. If you compare Rosewater to any number of films that focus even a little bit on interrogation, even in the recently democratic central and eastern Europe, the film stands up well to stories done often by the tortured themselves. Physical brutality is rare in this film and if we are to believe the writers were prepared to make Iran look bad they could have really laid it on thick, yet unlike some US film makers who sacrifice the basic facts for a bit of gore and propaganda, John Stewart stuck to the head games and did it well.

I suspect doing the Daily Show might be getting a bit old for him what with the recent reaction to his material on Gaza. I hope he makes the transition full time soon, he'll be a great addition to the pantheon of directors tackling issues with the same razor sharp intellect he uses in his comedy.

what a mess

[jack_gott · 1/10 · 21 November 2014]

This film is a disaster. The narrative is scrambled....sometimes schmaltzy, sometimes lost, sometimes both. Note to writers and director: humans don't talk like this. Characters are all either one- dimensional or no-dimensional. Camera-work...seriously? Every 5 minutes there's a shot out of focus, and another that focuses on something completely irrelevant. It's a real shame, because there's a wonderful story to be told here, but not by this cartoonish treatment. In the real world, people don't walk around with either a halo or a black cloud over them---in this 'video' they do. May as well have them actually wear black and white hats, does the filmmaker really think his audience is this stupid? (hey, maybe he's right). If submitted by a high school film student, this is a solid B-. Don't waste your money, wait for NetFlix then avoid it.