Rosewater is the true story of resilience. It is about a little boy who grows up in Iran, a world filled with love of family, strength of character and danger. Maziar Bahari (Gael Garcia Bernal) grows up in a family of activists. At the early age of nine, he witnesses first-hand the atrocities one must endure when one wishes to be free and to have their voice heard. His father, Baba Akbar (Haluk Bilginer ), and sister Maryam (Golshifteh Farahani) were both imprisoned and tortured for speaking against the government of Iran and the “Supreme Ruler.” As a man, he stands on the precipice of a new world where 75% of the people of Iran are under the age of 35 and knowledgeable of the freedoms of the world thanks to cell phones, the internet and mass media. They are ready for change.

Bahari, the reporter from Newsweek, covers the elections of 2009 between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hossein Mousavi. He objectively films both sides in the election. The election appears to be rigged when he receives a call from Ahmadinejad’s headquarters claiming victory way before the polls are closed. He knows there will be trouble, and he is supposed to go back home to his pregnant wife, but he decides to stay. Maziar covers the protests and witnesses the shooting of several protesters, both men and women. He releases the tapes to Newsweek and naïvely thinks he will be okay. The next day he is awakened by two men who arrest him and take him away. Will Mazair Bahari make it out of captivity alive or will he meet the same fate as his father and sister — an early death?

Rosewater at its simplest form is about media suppression and to what lengths a country, a people, will go to suppress the truth. Atrocities are happening all over the world and Rosewater brings to light the degree to which a country will go to keep the truth from its people and the world.

The film has so many layers to it that it’s hard to digest them all in one viewing. It’s like peeling back the layers of an onion ‘til you get to its core, or picking one rose petal at a time ‘til there are none left. It captures you, enraptures you so you want to stay put ‘til you see the very last bit of it. I was mesmerized by the beauty of the land and the simplicity of a people goaded by a common cause. To fully capture the essence, the subtle nuance of all that is occurring, you need to see this movie several times.

I was totally unprepared for the beginning of Rosewater. Me and my spoiled American ways, I am used to sitting back and enjoying the movie I’m watching with no work involved. Rosewater did not let me do that. The beginning of the film was breath-taking but it was in Farsi, the language of Iran ,with English subtitles. I always find movies with subtitles taxing because you often miss things going on in the movie while you are reading the text, or you miss something important a character says because you are looking intently at what’s going on on the screen. I did both, wishing I could hit the rewind button so I could see what I missed. Jon Stewart did a fine job on his directorial debut.

Is it wrong of me to say I loved this movie? Not because of the horrific atrocities Maziar Bahari had to endure for 118 days in solitary confinement, but for the triumph of the human spirit. In the midst of all this man’s suffering, he could find humor in his captors taking interest in his sexual practices; that they could find comfort in admission of his wrong-doing and give him a reprieve from torture. Shear madness to you and I, but to his captors they thought they were breaking him, making him conform to their ways.

Silencing the freedom of human expression robs the entire world of its voices. Rosewater would not let the voice of the people of Iran be silenced thanks to Mazair Bahari and the many people who fought for his freedom. Jon Stewart got it right. I’m already excited to see it again.

THIS OFFER HAS EXPIRED. COMMENTS ARE CLOSED.

CliqueClack has partnered with Open Road Films to offer readers in Boston an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new drama Rosewater starring Gael García Bernal, Kim Bodnia, Haluk Bilginer, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Golshifteh Farahani.

Rosewater follows the Tehran-born Bahari, a 42-year-old broadcast journalist with Canadian citizenship living in London. In June 2009, Bahari returned to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Moussavi, who was the prime challenger to controversial incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Moussavi’s supporters rose up to protest Ahmadinejad’s victory declaration hours before the polls closed on election day, Bahari endured great personal risk by submitting camera footage of the unfolding street riots to the BBC. Bahari was soon arrested by Revolutionary Guard police, led by a man identifying himself only as “Rosewater,” who proceeded to torture and interrogate the journalist over the next 118 days.

The screening will take place on Monday, November 10, 7:00 PM at AMC Boston Common.

A limited number of passes are available on a first come, first served basis. To be eligible, please read and follow the directions CAREFULLY. There will be no exceptions.

• Comment on this post ONLY with BOSTON. If you make a mistake, do not edit your comment because it will not register. You must submit a new comment.
• Include your FULL NAME (First and Last) and email address on the entry form (NOT in the comment box!). Double check your email address before submitting. If your email address is misspelled, you will not receive passes.
• ONE entry per person or couple will be accepted. Each winner will receive a code good for up to Two Admit One passes. CliqueClack has the right to discard any duplicates or comments that appear to be duplicates. Multiple comments from a single person will result in complete disqualification. As this is not a random drawing, only one person per couple needs to comment. Keep these offers fair for everyone!
• Check your calendar before commenting. If you have no intention of using the passes, please don’t leave a comment. If the studios see that passes we are given to award to our readers are not being used, they will not want to offer us passes for future screenings. Please be considerate!

Please note that passes do not guarantee seats at the screening. Seating is first come, first served so plan to arrive early. CliqueClack has no control over the total number of passes distributed, and is not responsible for seating arrangements at the theater.

Rosewater opens November 14.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1R3JVKPeZQ

THIS OFFER HAS EXPIRED. COMMENTS ARE CLOSED.

CliqueClack has partnered with Open Road Films to offer readers in Los Angeles an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new drama Rosewater starring Gael García Bernal, Kim Bodnia, Haluk Bilginer, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Golshifteh Farahani.

Rosewater follows the Tehran-born Bahari, a 42-year-old broadcast journalist with Canadian citizenship living in London. In June 2009, Bahari returned to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Moussavi, who was the prime challenger to controversial incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Moussavi’s supporters rose up to protest Ahmadinejad’s victory declaration hours before the polls closed on election day, Bahari endured great personal risk by submitting camera footage of the unfolding street riots to the BBC. Bahari was soon arrested by Revolutionary Guard police, led by a man identifying himself only as “Rosewater,” who proceeded to torture and interrogate the journalist over the next 118 days.

The screening will take place on Monday, November 10, 7:30 PM at AMC Century City, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd #2000, Los Angeles.

A limited number of passes are available on a first come, first served basis. To be eligible, please read and follow the directions CAREFULLY. There will be no exceptions.

• Comment on this post ONLY with LOS ANGELES. If you make a mistake, do not edit your comment because it will not register. You must submit a new comment.
• Include your FULL NAME (First and Last) and email address on the entry form (NOT in the comment box!). Double check your email address before submitting. If your email address is misspelled, you will not receive passes.
• ONE entry per person or couple will be accepted. Each winner will receive a code good for up to Two Admit One passes. CliqueClack has the right to discard any duplicates or comments that appear to be duplicates. Multiple comments from a single person will result in complete disqualification. As this is not a random drawing, only one person per couple needs to comment. Keep these offers fair for everyone!
• Check your calendar before commenting. If you have no intention of using the passes, please don’t leave a comment. If the studios see that passes we are given to award to our readers are not being used, they will not want to offer us passes for future screenings. Please be considerate!

Please note that passes do not guarantee seats at the screening. Seating is first come, first served so plan to arrive early. CliqueClack has no control over the total number of passes distributed, and is not responsible for seating arrangements at the theater.

Rosewater opens November 14.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1R3JVKPeZQ

ALL PASSES HAVE BEEN CLAIMED. WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY EMAIL. COMMENTS ARE CLOSED.

CliqueClack has partnered with Open Road Films to offer readers in San Francisco an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new drama Rosewater starring Gael García Bernal, Kim Bodnia, Haluk Bilginer, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Golshifteh Farahani.

Rosewater follows the Tehran-born Bahari, a 42-year-old broadcast journalist with Canadian citizenship living in London. In June 2009, Bahari returned to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Moussavi, who was the prime challenger to controversial incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Moussavi’s supporters rose up to protest Ahmadinejad’s victory declaration hours before the polls closed on election day, Bahari endured great personal risk by submitting camera footage of the unfolding street riots to the BBC. Bahari was soon arrested by Revolutionary Guard police, led by a man identifying himself only as “Rosewater,” who proceeded to torture and interrogate the journalist over the next 118 days.

The screening will take place on Monday, November 10, 7:00 PM at AMC Metreon, 135 4th St #3000, San Francisco.

A limited number of passes are available on a first come, first served basis. To be eligible, please read and follow the directions CAREFULLY. There will be no exceptions.

• Comment on this post ONLY with SAN FRANCISCO. If you make a mistake, do not edit your comment because it will not register. You must submit a new comment.
• Include your FULL NAME (First and Last) and email address on the entry form (NOT in the comment box!). Double check your email address before submitting. If your email address is misspelled, you will not receive passes.
• ONE entry per person or couple will be accepted. Each winner will receive a code good for up to Two Admit One passes. CliqueClack has the right to discard any duplicates or comments that appear to be duplicates. Multiple comments from a single person will result in complete disqualification. As this is not a random drawing, only one person per couple needs to comment. Keep these offers fair for everyone!
• Check your calendar before commenting. If you have no intention of using the passes, please don’t leave a comment. If the studios see that passes we are given to award to our readers are not being used, they will not want to offer us passes for future screenings. Please be considerate!

Please note that passes do not guarantee seats at the screening. Seating is first come, first served so plan to arrive early. CliqueClack has no control over the total number of passes distributed, and is not responsible for seating arrangements at the theater.

Rosewater opens November 14.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1R3JVKPeZQ