It all but makes sense that the directorial debut of renowned television personality Jon Stewart is the drama Rosewater. After all, its subject, Maziar Bahari was detained in an Iranian prison for 118 days largely because he jokingly called himself out as a spy in an interview to a correspondent from "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart." It is a frightening thought that the film provokes---tons of journalists are heavily detained, interrogated and worst of all, tortured in foreign countries due to their dedication to the craft. Bahari was covering the election of the new Iranian leader but he wasn't particularly throwing any super harsh criticisms into his story. Field and investigative journalism is largely based on the idea that unbiased reporting is the best kind. If a person who is covering a topical story that could expose less than desirable results for the subjects lets their own opinions and ideas get in the way, the story will ultimately fall apart.
Rosewater takes a largely interesting approach to this matter. Bahari was not so much someone who wanted to expose horrible wrong doings of the Iranian leaders but he wasn't a man who held back either. About halfway through the film, Maziar finally agrees to give the Iranian captors what they want and admit that he was lying in his writings. However, he delivers his apologies in such a "yeah--this is complete BS" way that he makes the captors feel almost as if it would be better if he said nothing at all.
The film is set up as an approach in the vein of "they can throw you in prison and brutally interrogate you but you can outsmart them by being hopeful." However, this tactic is effectively not thrown in until much later. The best scene involving Maziar outsmarting the men who have imprisoned him involves talking to his interrogator about a strange addiction of his. The interrogator is intrigued but also seemingly terrified that this information is coming to light. This shows a kind of ability that Bahari used to get him through this long detainment.
Maziar is played by the very underrated Gael Garcia Bernal, who adds another Best Actor Oscar worthy performance into an already extended list of strong candidates. His interrogator is played by Kim Bodnia, who gives a performance worthy of a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Like JK Simmons in Whiplash and *what I've heard of* Steve Carrell in Foxcatcher, Bodnia does have an advantage since he's in a lot of film and yet not the focus. Bodnia does an excellent job of playing a role that requires more than a lot of actors could imagine. He has to be both the tough as nails interrogator but he also has to remind the audience that he works for an organization and has higher ups as well. It's never really confirmed whether the interrogator wants to be doing what he does or whether he too has been forced into a miserable life he does not want to be a part of.
Stewart does a great job of adding a lot of black comedy into the film without ever letting go of the earnest storytelling and reminding the audience how great of a story this is. He writes (from Bahari's own memoir) and directs with flair but never lets the effectiveness and inherently terrifying nature of the story die down with it. This is a film both scary and uplifting. It's sad to think this is still happening in the world and Stewart lets us know this through a particularly infamous past event--a smart tactic that works brilliantly. Rosewater may not be for everyone and, as an aspiring journalist, it was admittedly uncomfortable for me to sit through. However, this is an extremely well made film about a courageous and altogether great man that should be seen if not just for the awareness of the dangers of field journalism.
(4 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for language including some crude references and violent content)
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