‘Rosewater’ Trailer: Jon Stewart Directs A True Story Of Insane Interrogation
Jon StewartofThe Daily Showwrites and directsRosewater, which tells the story of Iranian-born Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, who was arrested for espionage while covering the Iranian elections in 2009. He was held for 118 days, during which Bahari persistently interrogated by a man who had “proof” of Bahari’s bad intentions via the journalist’s Facebook page and, oddly, an appearance onThe Daily Show.Gael García Bernalplays Bahari in the film, which just premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is headed to Telluride and Toronto before a November opening. The first Rosewater trailer is below, along with excerpts from the first reviews out of Venice.Indiewirenoted that Stewart’s “directorial debut “Rosewater” magnifies another tendency lurking beneath the jokes: a sincere desire to demystify international problems and celebrate efforts to solve them.” The site dings the film for " underwritten screenplay and several misconceived narrative devices," but says “it’s also so committed to a good-natured attitude about the power of perseverance that the many shortcomings register as inoffensively well-intentioned rather than exclusively shallow"THRcalls the film “emotionally accessible but very modest,” expanding to say “the way the story unfolds, there really isn’t a message per se other than a general one about not giving up hope; the political and personal lessons here don’t seem particularly profound or instructive.“Varietysays “The punishing ordeal of Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari — imprisoned for 118 days on charges of espionage — is brought to the screen with impressive tact and intelligence by writer-director Jon Stewart in “Rosewater,” an alternately somber and darkly funny drama that may occupy the same geographic terrain as “Argo” (to which it will inevitably be compared), but in most other respects could hardly be more different.“Rosewateropens on November 7.Applehas the trailer.
