ROSEWATER – The Review

It’s hard to believe that two years have passed since the release of Ben Affleck’s ARGO, which went on to grab many Oscars, including Best Picture (over another true tale with similar themes, ZERO DARK THIRTY). Since then the Middle East continues to be the setting for many “ripped from the headlines” stories. Now comes another such film, but with several interesting twists. Once more we’re in Iran, part of the “axis of evil” trio named by a former president. But unlike those earlier films, it barely concerns “Westerners” with only a few Brits in small roles. The film’s lead is Iranian-born with nearly all of the action taking place there. As with Affleck helming ARGO, another high-profile American is behind the camera, but he doesn’t have a couple of features on his directing resume’.This movie making newcomer arrives right from the world of late-night comedy TV: Jon Stewart. Besides skewering the crisis in the mideast on most nights of basic cable’s “The Daily Show”, he’s got a true personal connection to this tale. That may be the reason he wrote the screenplay based on the book by the film’s protagonist (and Aimee Molloy), “Then They Came For Me: A Family’s Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival”. That’s a bit of a mouthful for ads, and would overflow most theatre marquees, so the movie’s been given the deceptively genteel title of ROSEWATER.

Following the opening titles, we’re witness to the arrest of Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari (Gael Garcia Bernal) at the Tehran home of his widowed mother Moloojoon (Shohreh Aghdashloo). So what prompted this? We jump back a bit to 2009. London-based  Newsweek magazine reporter Bahari is sent by his editor back to his homeland to cover the turbulent presidential election which pitted incumbent Mahmound Ahmadinejad and reformer Mir-Houssein Mousavi. After bidding his pregnant fiancée adieu, Bahari arrives to a land in turmoil. He’s surprised by the way many young people secretly use technology (illegal recorders and satellite dishes) to gather information and spread the news. On one afternoon, Bahari is interviewed by comedian Jason Jones for a segment of “The Daily Show”. When the election day vote count is questioned, protestors take the streets. Bahari is shocked as he video records many of them being arrested and even killed. As the book states, then they came for him. After combing through his Western media (books, DVDs, and CDs), all of which are declared “porn”, they whisk him to Evin Prison where his assigned a “specialist”, whom Bahari dubs “Rosewater” (Kim Bodnia) from the smell of his cologne,  that interrogates and tortures him until he confesses to being an undercover spy for the US (they truly believe Jones is his CIA contact!). Bahari must summon every ounce of strength in order to resist cracking and retain his sanity as he hopes to be released.

Bernal projects quiet intelligence as the worldly, educated investigator who’s inexplicably plunged into a brutal, dark world without logic and reason. And, often hope, but Bahari clings to that lifeline, like a man adrift in a stormy sea. We get to see him in light, verbal jests with his co-workers in the UK, then shift gears once he returns to his often hostile homeland. Bernal shows us the sadness in Bahari’s eyes as he interviews contemporaries who have been swept to in blind zealotry, while later his heart is lightened by teens eager to connect with the outside world, many of them defiantly thumb their noses at the oppressive regime in charge. After his arrest, there’s the disorientation and anxiety as he endures “sessions” with the authorities. How does he answer them so they don’t respond with a blow or a bullet? Bodina, as his unpredictable inquisitor, seems from appearances to be a reasonable man. Dressed in a crisp, clean suit, he could easily be mistaken for a professor or a salesman. But he can be a berating, abusive monster at the drop of a hat, or a flippant answer. For one session he almost becomes the straight man as Bahari delivers a ludicrous, racy monologue that he hopes will keep the “specialist” placated. After a humiliating chat with his superiors, we realize that both men must get out of this prison. The always compelling Aghdashloo displays plenty of fire as the mother who refuses to flinch in the face of injustice.

Stewart directs with a confident, steady hand. Aside from an early sequence using store windows as screens for Bahari’s flashbacks to his family history, Stewart eschews showy filmmaking flourishes. He shows us the danger lurking around every corner as the election aftermath ratchets up the considerable tensions. That’s not to say that Stewart doesn’t give us a few laughs. The already mentioned sex confession and the media search provide some well-needed levity. This gives us a respite before we are trapped in that cold room along with Bahari. When he begins to converse with the spirits of his long gone family members, we worry about his sanity. Those sequences possess great dramatic power, but a sense of scope is often lost. We’re taken away from the big story of political and societal change in the country as the film becomes an intimate battle of wills. It’s a well-intentioned work that feels like a prestige TV film rather than a riveting, all-encompassing film experience. However, this is an impressive first work from the beloved comic observer. When he’s through with the anchor desk, he should have an equally impressive career behind the camera. ROSEWATER is a good first step toward that.

3.5 Out of 5