Rosewater, Press Oppression in Iran

Maziar Bahari (Gael Garcia Bernal) starts shooting the riots

ROSEWATER boxart

 

Helming his first ever movie as the director of Rosewater, Jon Stewart of TV’s “The Daily Show” takes on the huge task of depicting journalistic persecution as his subject. The film is based on the memoirs/autobiography of Maziar Bahari an Iranian born Canadian journalist who was taken prisoner in Tehran for spying. It’s a very delicate undertaking especially due to the Iranian political system as they have very harsh laws that are delivered by their military regime, but Stewart shows he’s up to the task.

It’s June of 2009 and broadcast journalist Maziar Bahari (Gael Garcia Bernal) has flown back to his native country of Iran to cover the elections for President. While the country does have a democracy for voting, it is also notorious for making sure the ‘right’ person gets elected. Coming home to Iran for Maziar includes a chance to visit his mother (played by Shohreh Aghdashloo) and get her comments on a child he and his wife Paola (Claire Foy) are expecting.

Maziar Bahari (Gael Garcia Bernal) starts shooting the riots
Maziar Bahari (Gael Garcia Bernal) starts shooting the riots

The current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is running for reelection and has become nervous because of his past performance. His opponent Mir-Hossein Mousavi has received a strong following, especially from the young people of Iran. Maziar is hoping to get an interview with has a prime opportunity to interview with Mousavi and the leader of the students for Ahmadinejad for Newsweek. While he is there he accepts an interview for “The Daily Show” knowing it’s a comedy show. The outcome of the election of Ahmadinejad creates rioting by a massive number of people and Maziar finds himself in the right place at the right time in the midst of the turmoil. His news footage is shown on BBC and along with his ‘comical’ comments on the Daily Show he gets arrested by the police for spying on Iran.

Rosewater (Kim Bodnia) whispers into Maziar's (Bernal) ear just before his statement on TV
Rosewater (Kim Bodnia) whispers into Maziar’s (Bernal) ear just before his statement on TV

So begins the long arduous imprisonment and the torment by the police that make him give false testimony on TV. Although writer and director Jon Stewart handles the subject matter well, his filmmaking does show his inexperience in handling the material for the screen. In Rosewater he draws out his plot a bit heavy on the imprisonment and very light on the reason Bahari’s there in the first place. Although it’s touched on, Maziar’s background and his involvement in the political underground during the 2009 elections gets treated lightly. He also doesn’t “push the envelope” on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s hunger for power, devotion to the Supreme Leader and suppression of free speech. Knowing more about Ahmadinejad’s past would have made the film more compelling for those who weren’t aware of the despot leader. The riots were shown using Maziar Bahari’s original broadcast material and for that he does a good job. Stewart holds back very little of what was aired on TV and 60 minutes that incited criticisms of Ahmadinejad worldwide.

The acting all around is very good, especially Gael Garcia Bernal as Maziar Bahari. He shows how Maziar deals with his time in prison talking to his deceased father (Haluk Bilginer) recalling the ideals he stood for and dealing with the boredom. He shows off a few dance moves and keeps his guards off balance, especially the one he calls Rosewater (Kim Bodnia) who douses himself with the scent because he can’t stand the smell of the prisoners.

BONUS EXTRAS

John Stewart hosts five short topics on the Blu-ray and DVD Discs each lasting about a minute to 2 minutes. The following are the five extras: “Iran’s Controversial Elections”, “The Story of Maziar Bahari”, “Real Spies Have TV Shows”, “What Happens in New Jersey” and “A Director’s Perspective”.

Rosewater has been rated R by the MPAA for language including some crude references, and violent content. Maziar’s actual film footage shows a person getting shot while climbing a wall and Stewart’s script films men (actors) smoking opium as part of the narrative.

In October the same year as his release from Ivan prison in Iran Maziar Bahari was interviewed on CBS TV’s “60 Minutes”. During the 2009 interview he talks about his ordeal and footage of the riots are shown. [1] It’s a very good companion piece to Stewart’s Rosewater.

 

Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Kim Bodnia, Haluk Bilginer, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Golshifteh Farahani, Dimitri Leonidas, Claire Foy, Nasser Faris, Miles Jupp
Director, Screenwriter: Jon Stewart
MPAA Rating: R for language including some crude references, and violent content
Genre: Biography, Drama
Running Time: 1 hr. 43 min
Video Release Date: February 10, 2015
Original Film Release Date: November 27, 2014
Language: English, Farsi (subtitles)
Format: Blu-ray, DVD
Audio: Blu-ray- DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, DVD- Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Blu-ray- 1080p Widescreen 1.85:1, DVD- Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Number of Discs: 2 Disc Combo Pack + Ultraviolet
Distributed by: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

[1] http://www.cbsnews.com/news/newsweeks-bahari-recalls-iran-detention/

Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com