Jon Stewart's humor leavens tough-minded 'Rosewater'
Jon Stewart turns serious in Rosewater,
his directorial debut, yet he still can't resist leavening the timely political drama with humor.
It's a wise touch.
Stewart's foray into screenwriting and directing takes him far afield from his duties as host of The Daily Show (which plays a small but key role in the movie), and it's an impressive and ambitious venture (* * * ½ out of four; rated R; opens Friday in select cities).
Rosewater is based on journalist Maziar Bahari's 2011 memoir Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity and Survival,about his arrest on trumped-up spy charges and subsequent 118 days in solitary confinement in an Iranian prison where he was tortured and interrogated.
Bahari's terrifying experience had its origins in his casual appearance on Stewart's show. One of The Daily Show's correspondents had mock-interviewed Bahari in Tehran in 2009, just before the country's presidential election. The humorous sketch disguised as a serious interview — a regular staple of the show — featured comedian Jason Jones playing a spy in dark glasses asking about Iran. Bahari gave measured, thoughtful answers.
Shortly thereafter, Bahari (played wonderfully by Gael García Bernal) was arrested and accused of spying. Interrogators grilled him about his appearance on American TV, taking his bland remarks and imbuing them with treasonous significance. It's a ludicrous scenario that also is terrifying given his captors' lack of understanding.
Stewart has said the impetus for the film came out of his feelings of guilt over what happened to Bahari. Making a powerful film about Bahari's ordeal is a brilliant act of expiation, and Stewart has created an informative, dark and witty story imbued with black humor surrounding Bahari's confinement.
Stewart weaves in an intriguing device in which Bahari seeks counsel from his late father, Baba Akbar (Haluk Bilginer), a former political prisoner made to look very much alive. The imagined conversations intensify the saga and mitigate the unrelenting abuse heaped on Bahari.
A London-based journalist with a pregnant wife (Claire Foy), Bahari left England in 2009 to go to Iran on an assignment for Newsweek to cover the presidential race between incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and challenger Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
Ahmadinejad declared victory before the polls closed. Political protests erupted, and Bahari courted peril by recording the unrest and submitting the footage to his employers. Revolutionary Guard police burst into the home of Bahari's mother (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and dragged Bahari off to prison.
The narrative sets up the arrest, then cleverly deviates from linear storytelling, turning the clock back to show the events leading to Bahari's arrest.
After being tortured, questioned and repeatedly accused of spying, Bahari finally is released.
Stewart makes wise cinematic choices and Rosewater becomes a telling historical drama in the process.Given his political bent, it's not surprising that he chose a timely, eye-opening story to write and direct. Being an insightful satirist, Stewart brings his signature droll wit to the tale, particularly during scenes between Bahari and his main interrogator, Rosewater (Kim Bodnia).
Featuring terrific performances by an international cast, particularly the Mexican-born Bernal, Rosewater is an engrossing account of political oppression and the power of human endurance told boldly, briskly and earnestly.