Director: Jon Stewart

Starring: Gael García Bernal, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Golshifteh Farahani,

Kim Bodnia  & Dimitri Leonidas

Running Time: 103 mins

Release date: 7 Nov, 2014 

Worldwide Gross: N/A

 

 

 

 

Basic Plot:

 

Maziar Bahari (Gael García Bernal) is an Iranian journalist living in the UK and working for the publication Newsweek. He travels to Tehran, Iran to cover the elections of 2009. Upon arrival he hires a driver, Davood (Dimitri Leonidas) to drive him around the city. Davood becomes a friend and also proves to be a strong believer in Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the opposition in the election. Davood takes Bahari to see his friends, the "animals" in the streets of Tehran, who are also devout followers of the Green Movement. There, Bahari sees a quiet parade on the streets by the locals showing their excitement for the election the next day. After a seemingly corrupt election, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is reelected and the people are not happy. Protests ensue and Bahari uses his position to film and report on the protests that are happening across the city. Bahari's involvement leads to a visit from the authorities and Bahari's imprisonment. What proceeds is a host of questioning and torture to get a confession that Bahari is a spy of the Western world. He tries to convince them otherwise but without much success. Will they ever believe him?

 

Clock Watching? = 8/20

 

The first 30 minutes of Rosewater was quite engaging, there were some good relationships starting between characters and a good basis for an interesting movie. However, as soon as the election is over, the film's pace grinds to a halt. I spent the next 75 minutes waiting for something of interest to happen. My main issue with the film is its uncertainly of what it is trying to be. A Comedy? A satire? A political drama? A nail-biting prison thriller? It was, in fact, none of them. There were some humerous parts at the beginning but I didn't find myself laughing at regular intervals. The satire was difficult to determine, the politics seemed secondary after the election and all my nails were in the same condition after the film as they were before. This led to much frustration. I spent the last 30 minutes huffing and puffing at the lack of conviction of the movie, and to be honest I didn't care whether he survivied in the end or not. I was moved by nothing that the film had to offer.

 

Oscar Performances? = 10/20

 

None here! Although, Bernal did well with what seemed very little to play with. Bahari's character was in no means a captivating one and as the main protagonist, the character wasn't interesting enough to create an audience - screen relationship. Bernal seemed to be trying to portray a character with more zest but it was always clear that he was acting and that he didn't have the experience or knowhow to carry this film by himself. Dimitri Leonidas was convincing in his role and brought some comedy to the film with well delivered lines. The Iranian interogators, portrayed by Kim Bodnia and Nasser Faris, were very unbelievable and left a soar taste in my mouth. Although, the blame must land with the script and direction rather than Bodnia & Faris' performances.

 

Lights, Camera, Direction? = 9/20

 

One thing was clear whilst watching Rosewater, the director is a virgin to the feature film world. The actors looked lost, the camera felt like an awkward guest at a party that they weren't invited to and most of all, the film lacked identity. Jon Stewart's The Daily Show is a superb piece of television and because of this Rosewater has had much interest surrounding it. It will be distributed in the US and has a release date of November 7th this year, but I wonder if this film would have had as much hype if it wasn't for the influence of Jon Stewart's directional debut. If this debut film was directed by an unknown source, I feel that it would have been denied distribution and probably would have been ignored for this year's film festivals. The fact that Stewart is the film's director could also be its flaw, as it really didn't live up to my expectations.

 

Tell a Friend? = 7/20

 

Unfortunately, I will be telling people to avoid this one. Rosewater's inability to evoke a reaction in me (other than irritation) will make it a film I will forget by the time it is released in the Fall. Also, its lack of believability will make me forget to tell my pals. Bahari is imprisoned for over four months and not once does his 'designer' stubble grow or look in any way different. He hair is also kept to the same length and doesn't lose its style or look dirty at all. Iranian prisons look like nice places, according to this film. He is beaten but bares no bruises or marks on his skin, the prison certainly doesn't compare with other 'captivity' dramas such as Hunger (McQueen, 2008).

 

Again? = 5/20

 

Never! I like to spend my life as calm and free of frustration as possible. Another watch of Rosewater might effect that and I feel that I wouldn't get anything from a rewatch. I won't be opposed to watching Stewart's next project, if there is one, but if he serves up another experience like this it might be last Jon Stewart movie that I watch.

 

Total = 39% 

 

Jon Stewart's directional debut leaves a lot to be desired.

 

by Russell Farnham