Rosewater

R

Released Nov 7, 2014

1 hr. 43 min.

Drama

List

77%

154 Reviews

Tomatometer

68%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In June 2009, BBC journalist Maziar Bahari, an Iranian-born Canadian citizen, returned to his native country to interview Mir-Hossein Moussavi, the prime challenger to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. When Moussavi's supporters protested Ahmadinejad's declaration of victory, Bahari smuggled footage of the riots to the BBC. He was soon arrested by the Revolutionary Guard and -- led by a man known only as "Rosewater" -- was interrogated and tortured for 118 days.

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Critics Consensus

Timely, solidly acted, and unabashedly earnest, Rosewater serves as an impressive calling card for first-time director Jon Stewart.

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kevin c

Gael Garcia Bernal plays an Iranian born American journalist who returns to his homeland to cover the election and gets caught up in the unrest of the people after the controversial results, leading to his arrest and imprisonment. Based on the true story of journalist Maziar Bahari. Directed by Jon Stewart

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

michelle l

Very accurate depiction of Iran's imprisonment of British reporter. Well paced, good dialogue, well acted.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Rosewater is a good first directorial debut from Jon Stewart. The film is well acted with a good script but if you know what happens at the end of the script offers little surprises. I also feel the movie focused a little bit too much on the interrogation scenes which almost seem to last forever. Still it’s a good first effort and a meaningful film.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/27/20

Full Review

ari v

Took me a while to see the film that perhaps I felt took my favourite political pundit at the time, away from me. But it really is excellent. And all too prophetic of American elections to come. Whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

s r

A story to tell, but not told especially well in the second half.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

nilufer e

It was a realistic movie about a true story that we are very familiar with here in Turkey. I was also glad to see our Haluk Bilginer in the movie too. It was good but too uneventful for me.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Jon Stewart

Director

Gael García Bernal

Maziar Bahari

Shohreh Aghdashloo

Moloojoon

Golshifteh Farahani

Maryam

Dimitri Leonidas

Davood

Haluk Bilginer

Baba Akbar

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

The rest of the film is...kinda all over the place.

Rated: D+

Sep 1, 2017

Full Review

Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

We rarely get the sense that Stewart is talking down to us - which is why it's such a disappointment that 'Rosewater', is so often pitched and played like a carefully dumbed-down TV movie.

Jun 7, 2016

Full Review

Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

The story is engrossing and enraging, and Stewart takes care to remind us that the real victims of oppressive regimes are those who live with them on a daily basis.

Rated: 3/5

May 10, 2015

Full Review

Hosea Rupprecht

Pauline Center for Media Studies

In addition to being a commentary on hope, Rosewater joins other films on journalism that illustrate the sacrifices made by professional journalists in search of the truth.

Aug 12, 2021

Full Review

Joanne Laurier

World Socialist Web Site

Stewart has consistently demonstrated there is nothing genuinely non-conformist or oppositional about him.

Feb 26, 2021

Full Review

Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

The movie is very straightforward but does bring sincerity and emotion to the film but the over-all "never give up" message seems trite given the backdrop of the story.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 2, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

In June 2009, BBC journalist Maziar Bahari, an Iranian-born Canadian citizen, returned to his native country to interview Mir-Hossein Moussavi, the prime challenger to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. When Moussavi's supporters protested Ahmadinejad's declaration of victory, Bahari smuggled footage of the riots to the BBC. He was soon arrested by the Revolutionary Guard and -- led by a man known only as "Rosewater" -- was interrogated and tortured for 118 days.

Director: Jon Stewart
Executive Producer: Lila Yacoub, Eli Bush, Chris McShane
Screenwriter: Jon Stewart
Distributor: Open Road
Production Co: Odd Lot Entertainment
Rating: R (Some Crude References|Language|Violent Content)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 7, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 21, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.1M
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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