Review: "Rosewater"

I'm not sure if "Rosewater" would have receive all the intention it's getting if not for the presence of writer/director Jon Stewart, the TV funnyman/self-declared oracle who wanted to take a crack at something more serious. Still, it's a good film, a bit overly earnest, but certainly worthy of our attention.

It's not surprising Stewart chose the plight of journalist Maziar Bahari as his subject. The Canadian-Iranian was arrested by the Iranian regime in 2009 following an appearance on a segment for Stewart's "The Daily Show" in which the interviewer jokingly referred to Bahari as a Western spy. The Muslim fundamentalists who run the government, who aren't big on subtleties, arrested him and kept him in solitary confinement for nearly four months, where he was submitted to emotional and physical torture.

The film, based on a book by Bahari, takes a long time getting to its heart, which is Bahari (played by Gael García Bernal) trapped in a room with his "specialist," aka interrogator. The first 30 minutes or so show him wandering around Tehran covering the Iranian presidential elections, videotaping the sometimes-violent demonstrations, and visiting with his mother (Shohreh Aghdashloo).

This section is supposed to establish Bahari's bona fides as a gentle free thinker who just wants to bear witness to the historical events taking place. But it slows down the proceedings greatly and sap them of emotional strength.

Once captured, though, the movie takes off even as the story stays more or less locked in a single room. Bahari is kept blindfolded almost all the time, facing a wall, while his specialist tries to elicit a confession out of him. Over the weeks and months that follow, he learns little about the man other than he uses rosewater as a cologne.

Trapped the rest of the time in a lonely cell, the man's mind begins to wander -- thinking of his pregnant wife, his father (Haluk Bilginer), who was himself kept a prisoner during the days of the Shah, and his sister (Golshifteh Farahani), who suffered a similar fate for being a Communist in the 1980s.

The conversations with his imagined father were the most interesting to me, as Bahari falls further into despair and considers giving up and signing the confession. In a demonstration of old-school manliness, his father's spirit urges him to "give them nothing" and resist the beatings, and walk out of prison with his head held high -- even if it takes years.

Eventually, Bahari finds a way to overcome his captors using his imagination and willpower. It's the triumph of the beta male.

The performances are generally solid, especially Kim Bodnia as "Rosewater," Bahari's chief interrogator. Bodnia portrays him as a man who knows he has an awful job, but tries to make the best of it as he can. Over time he forms a bond with his prisoner that is surprising to him, especially when his superior orders him to deliver an arbitrary beating.

"Rosewater" isn't a great drama, but it's a pretty good one. Whatever else you want to say, Jon Stewart has a future in movies if ever gets tired of being incredibly rich and successful on television.

Video review: "In A Better World"

A surprise winner of the Oscar for best foreign language film, "In A Better World" got a bigger emotional reaction out of me than any other movie I've seen in the last year. It's a story about boys and men, about pacifism and aggression, and how responding to violence with violence may be the most satisfying thing, but it nearly always begets more of the same.

Danish director Susanne Bier, screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen and the cast strike a perfect balance between rage and heartbreak. The story centers around two 12-year-old boys, Elias (Markus Rygaard) and Christian (William Jøhnk Nielsen), who are bullied at school and burdened with fathers who are largely absent.

Christian stands up for Elias at school, in a shocking escalation of violence that exposes the boys to the power they can wield. On that flip side is the lesson of Christian's father, Anton (Mikael Persbrandt), a doctor who faces off with an adult antagonist in an entirely different, and braver, way.

No character in the film is entirely beneficent or truly irredeemable. Even Anton, a healer by vocation and temperament, is shown to be capable of hurting those closest to him. We also sense that his confrontation, while ostensibly a lesson in non-violence for the boys, is as much for Anton's own benefit, reassuring himself of the choices he's made.

The performances by Rygaard and Nielsen are stark and unornamented, and represent some of the best film performances by child actors you're ever likely to see.
"In A Better World" perfectly captures what it's like to be a boy on the verge of manhood, and tempted by both limitless good and irrepressible evil.

Video extras, which are the same for DVD and Blu-ray editions, are solid without bowling us over.

There's a feature-length commentary track by director Bier and editor Pernille Bech Christiansen, an interview with Bier and several deleted scenes.

Movie: 3.5 stars out of four
Extras: 3 stars out of four

Review: "In a Better World"

I've noticed a curious trend with the winners for the Academy Award for best foreign language film.

It seems like in recent years, somewhere between two and four of the nominees will have gotten a U.S. release by the time of the Oscars, and a clear front-runner will emerge. Then, a nominee seemingly out of left field that few people have seen will win the statue.

I have harrumphed when wonderful films like "Pan's Labyrinth," "Waltz with Bashir" or "Biutiful" get stiffed by an interloper. Then, months later, the Oscar-winning film finally comes to these shores, and I find myself nodding in agreement with the Academy.

"The Lives of Others," "The Secret in Their Eyes" and "Departures" were all examples of latecomers deserving to win the best foreign film prize. Add the 2010 Academy Award winner, "In a Better World," to the list.

This stunning film from Danish director Susanne Bier ("After the Wedding") is a searing emotional journey between the polar edges of the human heart, both violent and pacifistic. It does not settle for simple answers, recognizing that sometimes fighting back is the most satisfying response to aggression, but understanding that violence almost always begets more of the same.

No one in "A Better World" is entirely a villain, and even the most saint-like character has flaws and doubts.

The story revolves around two 12-year-old boys, Elias (Markus Rygaard) and Christian (William Jøhnk Nielsen), in a pair of performances amazing from performers so young, stark and unadorned. Bier, her young actors and screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen perfectly grasp what it is like to be a boy on the verge of manhood, when possibilities for both good and evil are endless, and relationships with friends gain heft as those with parents fray.

Theirs is a world where fathers are loving but largely absent, where bullies roam the school unhindered and abuse is simply to be endured ... until.

Christian is the new boy at school, the son of a recent widower. It is unspoken but firmly understood that he blames his father (Ulrich Thomsen) for, in his eyes, abandoning his mother and then abandoning Christian himself with his frequent business trips. Christian has grown hardened, both toward his remaining parent and the world at large.

On his first day at school he spies Elias being picked on by the schoolyard thug, Sofus (Simon Maagaard Holm). Elias is sweet-faced and harmless, with big liquid blue eyes and an expression of innocence. Christian stands up for Elias, and as a result becomes a target himself. Until, that is, he escalates the situation in a shocking turn.

Don't you know that violence never solves anything, his father asks him?

"It does if you hit hard enough the first time," Christian responds with icy calculation.

The other major figure is Anton (Mikael Persbrandt), Elias' father and a doctor who works in the most wretched corner of Africa, stricken with poverty and warlords. Anton is a healer, and it pains him that the only wound he cannot mend is the one he left on the heart of his wife (Trine Dyrholm).

While he is at home, Anton breaks up a fight between Elias' little brother and another boy, and the other boy's father (Kim Bodnia) reacts with rage, slapping Anton in full sight of the Elias and Christian.

The boys' budding machismo cannot comprehend why Anton does not fight back. He explains it to them, and then takes an extraordinary step to prove his principles, but we sense that he's really convincing himself. The boys, for their part, are not persuaded and take matters in a dire direction.

"In a Better World" is an absolutely gripping cinematic experience that had me by turns boiling with rage and tearing up at moments of absolute tenderness. This wonderful film has mastered both extremes.

3.5 stars out of four