Rosewater

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Rosewater

R,

2014,

1h 43m,

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

76%

154 Reviews

Tomatometer

68%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

76%

Tomatometer

154 Reviews

68%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

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.

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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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

Sep 1, 2017

D+

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

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

Jun 7, 2016

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.

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Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

May 10, 2015

3/5

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.

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Matt Oakes

Silver Screen Riot

Oct 14, 2026

C

With Stewart mounting the director's chair, 'Rosewater' is a perfect History class film; an educational and well acted showcase of media tragedy ballooning into a thoughtful and humanizing story.

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Hosea Rupprecht

Pauline Media Studies

Aug 12, 2021

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.

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Joanne Laurier

World Socialist Web Site

Feb 26, 2021

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

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Leia P

Sep 23, 2018

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

Rey S

Dec 16, 2017

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.

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Hermione M

Jul 11, 2017

Well acted, but lacked the emotional punch of the source material. Also Gael García Bernal doesn't seem like the right actor to play a Persian.

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Finn W

Apr 23, 2017

Despite an ambitious effort from Jon Stewart and a solid performance from Gael Garcia Bernal, Rosewater does not build up its lead character, is badly paced, overacted in a supporting performance, and is ultimately unemotional and contains some questionable choices in terms of editing.

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Kylo L

Feb 3, 2017

Beautiful movie. The acting and directing feels effortless. Everything Jon Stewart touches is 100% perfection.

Anakin W

May 24, 2015

I found this interesting and engaging and the central performances, particularly Bernal, were brilliant. I got confused sometimes as to the purpose and direction but I did feel moved. Considering it was Jon Stewart's first film I thought it was well done.

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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
Producer: Scott Rudin, Jon Stewart, Gigi Pritzker
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
Runtime: 1h 43m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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