The Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart took a brief break from writing and hosting Comedy Central’s news satire show to direct Rosewater. Which didn’t hurt either Stewart or John Oliver, who then got a job hosting his own news satire show on HBO. Now we are starting to see Stewart’s talents as a director as the first trailer for Rosewater hit the web.
The film centers on Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, who covered Iranian elections in 2009, and was subsequently arrested and charged with espionge for writing about the political protests. Held for 118 days, Bahari persistently interrogated by a man, who smelled like Rosewater, who had “proof” of Bahari being a spy for a foregin nation, and used information journalist’s Facebook page and, oddly, an appearance on The Daily Show, to break him. Hit the jump to see the first trailer.
The film has generally favorable reviews which cite that the films weakest part is it’s screenplay, but its strength comes from the tone and message of perseverance.
Starring Gael García Bernal, who plays Bahari, Rosewater opens in theaters on November 7. Apple has the trailer in HD.
Rosewater is based on the best-selling memoir by Maziar Bahari. The film is the directorial debut of Jon Stewart, and stars Gael García Bernal. Rosewater follows the Tehran-born Bahari, a journalist with Canadian citizenship. In June 2009, Bahari returned to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who was the challenger to president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Mousavi’s supporters protested Ahmadinejad’s victory declaration hours before the polls closed, Bahari endured personal risk by sending footage of the street riots to the BBC. Bahari was arrested by police, led by a man identifying himself as “Rosewater,” who tortured and interrogated him over the next 118 days. With Bahari’s wife leading an international campaign to have her husband freed, and media outlets keeping the story alive, Iranian authorities released Bahari on bail and the promise he would act as a spy for the government.