I try to keep up on current events, but I’m sad to say I didn’t know anything about the detainment of Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari in 2009. Rosewater tells his story, in subtle but gripping ways.
Bahari, portrayed in the film by Gael Garcia Bernal, returns to his home nation of Iran in 2009 to film the presidential election. Working for Newsweek, he tries to show supporters of both sides. Despite early polling showing Mir-Hossein Mousavi leading, incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is declared a clear winner, leading to protests by the younger, disillusioned population. Bahari captures some of these protests on camera, including scenes of the protesters being fired upon by militia and/or police. When his footage is posted online, he is immediately arrested by the Iranian police and interrogated over the next few months.
Because Bahari is a high profile prisoner, he is not beaten or physically harmed, but the movie still paints a harsh picture of the psychological abuse he receives. He is robbed of sight for long stretches of the day when he is forced to be blindfolded. He is told he will never see his family again and will be killed unless he cooperates. Even when he does finally join in their propaganda, he is not set free and continues to be held. He sees visions of his father and sister, both of whom spent time in Iranian prisons.
This is a good, if somewhat soft spoken film. It makes me appreciate more the trials journalists can go through for only doing their job and trying to show the truth going on in this world. I can’t help but wonder why the population of countries like Iran don’t leave en masse, when faced with harsh dictatorship and oppression. Though Bahari was not physically tortured, others in the rebellious faction most definitely were, and through dialogue it seemed it was commonplace for every household to have had a member detained for months or years. We Americans complain an awful lot about our problems, but we really are very lucky.
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