Rosewater (film)#Film

{{Infobox film

| name = Rosewater

| image = Rosewater poster.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Jon Stewart

| producer = Scott Rudin
Jon Stewart
Gigi Pritzker

| screenplay = Jon Stewart

| based_on = {{based on|Then They Came for Me|Maziar Bahari
and Aimee Molloy}}

| starring = Gael García Bernal
Kim Bodnia
Haluk Bilginer
Shohreh Aghdashloo
Golshifteh Farahani

| music = Howard Shore{{cite web|title=Howard Shore Scoring Jon Stewart's 'Rosewater'|url=http://filmmusicreporter.com/2014/06/10/howard-shore-scoring-jon-stewarts-rosewater/|publisher=Film Music Reporter|access-date=August 15, 2014|date=June 10, 2014}}

| cinematography = Bobby Bukowski

| editing = Jay Rabinowitz

| studio = OddLot Entertainment
Busboy Productions

| distributor = Open Road Films{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2014/05/cannes-jon-stewarts-movie-helming-debut-rosewater-near-open-road-deal-727621/ |title=Open Road Acquires Jon Stewart's 'Rosewater' With Fall Release Planned |first=Mike |last=Fleming |work=Deadline Hollywood |date=May 12, 2014|access-date=July 19, 2014}}

| released = {{Film date|2014|08|29|Telluride|2014|11|14|United States}}

| runtime = 103 minutes{{cite web | url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/rosewater-film | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114174047/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/rosewater-film | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 14, 2015 | title=ROSEWATER (15) | work=British Board of Film Classification | date=November 26, 2014 | access-date=November 26, 2014}}

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget = $5–10 million{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2014/11/28/media/jon-stewart-rosewater-box-office/ |title=Jon Stewart's 'Rosewater' underwhelms at box office |website=CNN Money |date=November 28, 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rosewater#tab=summary|title=Rosewater (2014)|website=The Numbers|access-date=August 13, 2015}}

| gross = $3.2 million

}}

Rosewater is a 2014 American political drama film written, directed and produced by Jon Stewart, based on the memoir Then They Came for Me by Maziar Bahari and Aimee Molloy.{{cite news|last=McClintock|first=Pamela|title=Toronto: Jon Stewart to Pitch 'Rosewater,' Share First Footage|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/toronto-jon-stewart-pitch-rosewater-619666|access-date=September 13, 2013|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=September 3, 2013}} It recounts Bahari's 2009 imprisonment by Iran, connected to an interview he participated in on The Daily Show that same year; Iranian authorities presented the interview as evidence that he was in communication with an American spy.{{cite web|title=Iranian State TV Targets Jon Stewart for Directing Movie 'Commissioned by His Masters'|first=Josh |last=Feldman|date=5 December 2013|access-date=16 December 2013|publisher=Mediaite|url=http://www.mediaite.com/online/iranian-state-tv-targets-jon-stewart-for-directing-movie-%E2%80%98commissioned-by-his-masters%E2%80%99/}} Due to the content of the film, Stewart has been accused by Iran's state TV of being funded by Zionists and working with the CIA.{{cite web|title=Jon Stewart, CIA superspy? Iranian TV creates new 'Zionist' conspiracy|first=Douglas |last=Ernst|work=Washington Times|date=5 December 2013|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/5/jon-stewart-cia-super-spy-iranian-tv-creates-new-z/|access-date=16 December 2013}} The film was released in theaters on November 14, 2014. The film received generally positive reviews.

Plot

In 2009, London-based Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari is detained in Iran after he reports on violence against protesters of the country's presidential election, as well as giving a satirical interview with Jason Jones of The Daily Show.{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2752688/ |title=Rosewater (2014) |website=imdb.com |year=2014 |access-date=19 July 2014}} While his pregnant fiancée waits for him, Bahari spends 118 days at Evin Prison being brutally interrogated.{{cite magazine|title=What Is Rosewater, the Movie Taking Jon Stewart Away from The Daily Show?|first=Lily |last=Rothman|date=6 March 2013|magazine=Time|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2013/03/06/what-is-rosewater-the-movie-taking-jon-stewart-away-from-the-daily-show/}}

Bahari is usually blindfolded while being interrogated, and his interrogator's sole distinguishing feature is that he smells of rosewater.

Cast

Gael García Bernal as Maziar Bahari, a journalist who was interrogated and tortured over 118 days in Iran
Claire Foy as Paola Gourley
Kim Bodnia as "Rosewater"{{cite web |url= https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jan/31/the-bridge-kim-bodnia-darkness-misery |title=The Bridge's Kim Bodnia: 'Darkness, misery, evil – we do them best' |first=Stuart |last=Jeffries |work=The Guardian |date=January 31, 2014 |access-date=July 19, 2014}}
Haluk Bilginer as Baba Akbar
Shohreh Aghdashloo as Moloojoon
Dimitri Leonidas as Davood{{cite news |last=Snider |first=Eric D. |url=http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2014/08/roserwater-review |title=Telluride 2014: Jon Stewart's "Rosewater" Is a Fine First Film, But That's About It |work=Complex |date=2014-09-01}}
Golshifteh Farahani as Maryam
Arian Moayed as Hamid{{cite web|url=http://www.awardscircuit.com/2014/04/15/awards-profile-rosewater/|title=Awards Profile: Rosewater|work=AwardsCircuit.com - By Clayton Davis|access-date=14 November 2014}}
Amir El-Masry as Alireza
Jason Jones as himself

Production

Rosewater was filmed in Jordan, with footage from Iran,{{cite web|title=Parts of Jon Stewart's new movie 'Rosewater' actually filmed in Iran|url=http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2014/11/12/parts-of-jon-stewarts-new-movie-rosewater-actually-filmed-in-iran/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141117051750/http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2014/11/12/parts-of-jon-stewarts-new-movie-rosewater-actually-filmed-in-iran/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 17, 2014|access-date=8 February 2015}} between June and mid-August 2013. It had a budget of $5–10 million.{{cite web |title=Rosewater: everything we know so far about Jon Stewart's new movie |date=2014-08-30 |website=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202020910/https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2014/aug/30/rosewater-jon-stewart-movie-telluride-festival |archive-date=2022-12-02 |url-status=live |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2014/aug/30/rosewater-jon-stewart-movie-telluride-festival}}{{cite news|last=Siegel|first=Tatiana|title=Jon Stewart Movie: Salary Issues Complicate Gael Garcia Bernal Casting|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jon-stewart-movie-salary-issues-565834|access-date=September 13, 2013|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=June 12, 2013}}

Release

On July 31, 2014, it was announced that the film would be released on November 7, 2014.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2014/07/rosewater-jon-stewart-movie-release-date-november-7-812801/ |title=Jon Stewart's 'Rosewater' Gets November 7 Release Date |website=Deadline Hollywood |date=July 31, 2014 |access-date=August 1, 2014}} The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 29, 2014,{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2014/08/telluride-oscar-host-to-oscar-contender-jon-stewarts-rosewater-wins-standing-ovation-at-festival-827123/|title=Jon Stewart's 'Rosewater' Enters The Oscar Conversation At Telluride Film Festival - Deadline|author=Pete Hammond|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=30 August 2014 |access-date=14 November 2014}} and it was screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2014.{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/tiff-toronto-intl-film-festival-gala-special-presentations-1201266480/ |title=Toronto Film Festival Lineup |access-date=22 July 2014 |work=Variety|date=22 July 2014 }}

Reception

=Box office=

Rosewater grossed $3.2 million.

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $1.2 million from 371 theaters, finishing 13th at the box office.{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2014&wknd=46&p=.htm |title=Weekend Box Office November 14-16, 2014 Weekend |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=April 15, 2015}}

=Critical reception=

Rosewater received mostly positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 76%, based on 155 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's consensus reads, "Timely, solidly acted, and unabashedly earnest, Rosewater serves as an impressive calling card for first-time director Jon Stewart."{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rosewater/ |title=Rosewater |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=October 5, 2022}} On Metacritic, the film has a score of 67 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/rosewater|title=Rosewater Reviews |website=Metacritic |access-date=22 November 2014}}