118 Dias

I am trying hard to rack my brain to see if I remember the events of the film, Rosewater, surrounding Maziar Bahari, and everything than went on and happened to him during that period. All this happened just a few years ago (2009 to be exact) and I do seem to remember the Iranian election and the uproar and protests that went on afterwards, but unfortunately Bahari's story still remains a blank in my memory. This is not because the story is not important, but rather because I used to watch a lot of political and topical news on various channels over the years and sometimes if you watch it everyday, you just see so much different information and stories and sometimes it is hard to remember all the details, or all the events that happened. For this reason, I am glad that I had the chance to go and see Rosewater, because obviously it is history, even though being recent, it is something that I do not remember, so I am glad I was introduced to this film and to Bahari's story, because it is an important one. The film is based on the book "Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity and Survival" by Bahari, and if you watch the end credits of this film, you can see that he had a lot of connections and consultation to this film. The film's screenplay and direction is from Jon Stewart, of television's The Daily Show, of which just recently, Stewart announced that he would be leaving from. If you watch the film and do a little bit of research on it afterwards, you can definitely see why Stewart wanted to make this into a full length movie and not just a segment on his television show. Some would even be of the opinion that Stewart's program could have been a further instigator and certainly did not help Bahari's situation when he was imprisoned. Perhaps that is why Stewart took time off from doing his television show. In my opinion, I think he thought this was a story that definitely needed to be told and to also honour and in some ways apologize to Bahari, for the events that led up to his arrest and detainment. Stewart's loyalty and respect for him certainly comes through during the film and you can tell that he certainly thinks a lot and very highly of Bahari. I have never watched The Daily Show before, mostly because I had no interest in it and I think usually the humour they employ on the program (it is a satirical news program for those who have not seen it) is usually more democratic, or left leaning and I was personally afraid of it being a bit too biased, so on those accounts I stayed away from it. I have seen Stewart in some films before as well as when he hosted the 2006 Academy Awards, which unfortunately for Stewart did not turn out too well (although I was massively ticked off also that Crash, won that year over a handful of other worthy films), so that maybe had to do with some of my dislike for the year's awards ceremony anyhow. Back to Rosewater though, Stewart shows that he is a very capable writer and director and he does a good job on both accounts here. The film casts Gael Garcia Bernal (an actor who I have liked and enjoyed since his performance in Y Tu Mama Tambien) as Bahari and he does a very good job here. As does Kim Bodnia, who plays an interrogator who gives the film it's title name. The film is fascinating as it recounts these true events, but still makes them fresh and interesting whether you remembered a lot of these events happening, or were unbeknownst to them like I was. It all unfolded like a fascinating drama and the film certainly kept your interest and you really wanted to see how everything turned out at the end and I think the same would be true for people who are familiar with the story as well because of the strong filmmaking in front of and behind the camera. In Stewart's screenplay, he very wisely avoids all types of melodrama, which I think was the right choice here. Had this film been melodramatic the emotions you grow to have with the characters, would have felt more forced than something you feel for them because you like and grow to care for them and that just would not have worked. Fortunately also, I did not detect a strong political bias to the film, so for those who hate biased, or one sided storytelling can breathe clear, because the main message here is about freedom and how certain atrocities still go on around the world and we need to be aware of them, but at the same time the film does not feel like it is lecturing us, or telling us what to think, or even clearly demonizing anyone, or anything, but rather just tells the story facts and all. I found the two strongest characters to be Bahari as well as Kim Bodnia's character of the interrogator. Even though you are not rooting in any way for Bodnia's character, I found him to be a fascinating man and there seems to be more going on than what is first obvious and you can almost detect that he has his own fascination, or even to a small degree, respect, for Bahari and their interactions play out beautifully because of the strong writing and also the top notch performances from these two men. Having now watched Rosewater, I do consider it to be a film of importance and deserves to be seen and have it's story told.

Jon Stewart. Comedian. Astute political commentator. Filmmaker. He isn't known for the latter, but he should be. Since he is long finished with his reign on The Daily Show, he must consider making more films. Rosewater is a triumph. A strong cry for resistance of despotic regimes worldwide. A loud roar for freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Maziar Bahari is not fake news. He has a story that makes us all thankful that the monstrous Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is no longer in power. The interrogation scenes made me cringe in compassion for all political prisoners. Jon Stewart wanted to make a powerful statement and he succeeded. He's proved to be a provocateur with his on-stage persona.. but his filmmaking skills are equally as provoking.

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.

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.

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.